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THE 

HISTORY 

or   NATIONS 


CHINA 


1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/chinarobOOdougiala 


THE  HISTORY  OF  NATIONS 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,PhI)..LLli  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

CHINA 

by 
SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS 

Professor  of  Chinese ,  Kind's  College ,  London 

With  special  Article 
LATE  EVENTS  AND  PRESENT 
CONDITIONS 

by 

JEREMIAH  W .  JENRS.  PhDXLD. 

Professor  of 

Political  Economy  and  Politics 

Cornell  University 

Volume    VI 


Illustrated 


The  H.W.  Snow  and  Son  Company 

C  h  i   c   a   g    o 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
JOHN  D.  MORRIS  &  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1910 
THE  H.  W.  SNOW  &  SON  COMPANY 


THE   HISTORY   OF  NATIONS 


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  PL.D.,  L.L.D. 

Associate  Editors  and  Authors 


ARCHIBALD  HENRY  SAYCE.  LL.D., 

Professor    of    Assyriology,     Oxford     Uni- 
versity 


SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS. 

Professor  of  Chinese,  King's  College,  Lon- 
don 


CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON,  M.D.,  Ph.D., 

Associate  Professor  of  Oriental  History  and 
Archaeology,  Johns  Hopkins  University 


C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  History,  Oxford  University 


JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE  JENKS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Political  Economy  and   Pol- 
itics, Cornell  University 


KANICHI  ASAKAWA,  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in    the    History    of    Japanese 
Civilization,  Yale  University 


THEODOR  MOMMSEN. 

Late  Professor  of  Ancient   History.   Uni- 
versity of  Berlin 


ARTHUR  C.  HOWLAND.  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


WILFRED  HAROLD  MU5R0,  Ph.D., 

Professor    of    European    History,    Browp 
University 


G.  MERCER  ADAM, 

Historian  and  Editor 


FRED  MORROW  FLING,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  European  History,  University 
of  Nebraska 


CHARLES  MERIVALE,  LL.D., 

Late   Dean  of  Ely,   formerly  Lecturer  In 
History,  Cambridge  University 


FRAN9OIS  AUGUSTE  MARIE  MIGNET, 

Late  Member  of  the  French  Academy 


JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON.  Ph.D., 
J.  HIGOINSON  CABOT,  Ph.D.,  Department    of    History.     University    of 

Department  of  History,  Wellesley  College  Chicago 

SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER,  LL.D., 
SIR  WILLIAM  W.  HUNTER,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Modem  History,  King's  Col- 

Late  Director-General  of  Statistics  in  India  lege.  London 


R.  W.  JOYCE,  LL.D., 
GEORGE  M.  DUTCHER.  Ph.D.,  Commissioner  for  the  Publication  of  the 

Professor  of  History,  Wesleyan  University  Ancient  Laws  of  Ireland 

vi 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AND   AUTHORS-Continued 


JUSTIN  McCarthy,  ll.d.. 

Author  and  Historian 


AUGUSTUS  HUNT  SHEARER.  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in     History,     Trinity    Colleget 
Hartford 


W.  HAROLD  CLAFLIN,  BJL. 

Department    of    History, 
varsity 


Harvard    Uni- 


PAUL  LOUIS  LEGER, 

Professor  of  the  Slav  Languages,  College 
de  France 


WILLIAM  E.  LINGLEBACH,  Ph.D., 

Assistant  Professor  of  European  History, 
University  of  Pennsylvania 


BAYARD  TAYLOR, 

Former  United  States  Minister  to  Germany 


CHARLES  DANDLIKER,  LL.D.. 

President  of  Zurich  University 


SIDNEY  B.  FAY,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  History,    Dartmouth   College 


ELBERT  JAY  BENTON.  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  Western  Reserve 
University 


SIR  EDWARD  S.  CREASY, 

Late  Professor  of  History,  University  Col- 
lege, London 


ARCHIBALD  CARY  COOLIDGE,  Ph.D., 

Assistant    Professor   of    History,    Harvard 
University 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  MORFILL,  M.A., 

Professor  of   Russian  and   other  Slavonic 
Languages,  Oxford  University 

CHARLES  EDMUND  FRYER.  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  McGill  University 

E.  C.  OTTE, 

Specialist  on  Scandinavian  History 

EDWARD  S.  CORWIN.  Ph.D., 

Instructor    in     History,     Princeton    Uni- 
versity 


J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D., 

President  Royal  Geographical  Society 


ALBERT  GALLOWAY  KELLER,  Ph.D., 

Assistant  Professor  of  the  Science  of  So- 
ciety, Yale  University 


EDWARD  JAMES  PAYNE,  M.A.. 

Fellow  of  University  College,  Oxford 


PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLS,  Ph.D.. 

Lecturer  in  History  and  Librarian  of  the 
Law  School,  Yale  University 


FREDERICK  ALBION  OBER. 

Historian,  Author  and  Traveler 


JAMES  WILFORD  GARNER.  Ph.D.. 

Professor  of  Political  Science,   University 
of  Illinois 


JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  LittD.,  LL.D.. 

Professor  of  History,  University  of  Penn« 
sylvania 


JAMES  LAMONT  PERKINS,  Manatfing  Editor 


The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  for  valuable 
advice  and  suggestions  received  from  the  following:  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White, 
LL.D.,  Alfred  Thayer  Mahan,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith, 
LL.D.,  Professor  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  Ph.D.,  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
LL.D.,  Dr.  Emil  Reich,  William  Elliot  Griffis,  LL.D.,  Professor  John 
Martin  Vincent,  Ph.D.,  LL.D,,  Melvil  Dewey,  LL.D.,  Alston  Ellis,  LL.D., 
Professor  Charles  H.  McCarthy,  Ph.D.,  Professor  Herman  V.  Ames,  Ph.D., 
Professor  Walter  L.  Fleming,  Ph.D.,  Professor  David  Y.  Thomas,  Ph.D., 

Mr.  Otto  Reich  and  Mr.  O.  M.  Dicksrson. 

vii 


PREFACE 

The  antiquity  of  China  is  so  great,  and  the  history  of  the 
Erppire  covers  so  vast  a  period,  that  it  is  difficult  to  compress  the 
whole  subject  within  the  limits  of  a  single  volume.  It  was  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  limit  the  record,  in  the  present  instance,  to  the 
annals  of  the  Empire  from  the  time  of  Marco  Polo  to  the  present 
day,  which  constitutes  by  far  the  most  important  period. 

As  is  well  known,  the  Chinese  possess  histories  of  their  various 
dynasties,  and  they  attempt  to  insure  that  these  should  be  truthful 
records  by  ruling  that  the  events  of  each  dynasty  should  not  be  de- 
scribed by  contemporary  historians,  but  by  authors  under  the  suc- 
ceeding regime.  It  might  be  supposed  that  this  system  would  entail 
the  compilation  of  biased  and  ex  parte  chronicles.  But  happily 
Chinese  historians,  like  the  rest  of  their  countrymen,  are  so  devoid 
of  patriotism  that  they  have  no  inducement  to  pervert  facts,  or  to 
trim  their  sails  to  the  necessities  of  party  feeling.  Generally  truth- 
ful as  these  historians  are,  however,  their  works  yet  labor  under 
the  defect  common  to  all  Oriental  histories  of  being  records  of  the 
court  and  camp  rather  than  of  the  life  of  the  people ;  and  it  is  only 
by  reference  to  miscellaneous  sources  that  it  has  been  possible  to 
obtain  the  side  lights  necessary  to  illustrate  the  true  progress  of  the 
nation. 

Among  the  authorities  I  have  consulted  are  the  following: 
The  native  dynastic  histories;  the  "  Sheng  Wu  Ki,"  or  the  wars  of 
the  present  dynasty,  by  Wei  Yuen;  various  native  biographical 
works ;  the  Peking  Gazette,  the  oldest  newspaper  in  the  world ;  the 
Parliamentary  Blue  Books;  the  histories  of  China  by  Wells,  Wil- 
liams, Boulger,  and  Macgowan;  "The  Jesuits  in  China,"  by  R. 
Jenkins ;  "  A  Narrative  of  Events  in  China,"  by  Lord  Loch ;  "  The 
Ever-Victorious  Army,"  by  Andrew  Wilson,  besides  many  others 
which  have  been  made  use  of  for  comparison  or  reference. 


(jLrinyi^  ^^  O-^-^^^^^ci^ 


CONTENTS 


PART   I 

THE  EMPIRE  BEFORE  THE   OPENING  OF  FOREIGN 
RELATIONS.   2500   B.  C.-1796  A.  D. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The   Early  History  of  the  Empire.    2500  b.  c- 

IIOO  A.  D.  .......       3 

II.  The  Yuan  and  Ming  Dynasties.    1260-1644    •         •     ^7 

III.  The  Rise  of  the  Manchus.     1644- 1722  .         .         .42 

IV.  The  Reigns  of  YungchIng  and  Ch'ienlung.    1722- 

1796 78 

PART   II 

THE  GROWTH   OF   COMMERCE  AND  THE  FIRST 
FOREIGN   WARS.    1796-1860 

V.  The   Opening   of   Diplomatic   Intercourse   with 

Foreign  Nations.    1635-1799    ....   107 
VI.  The  Reign  of  Chiach'ing,  and  the  First  Years  of 

His  Successor.     1796-1834        .         .         .         .116 
VII.  Foreign  Relations  and  the  Opium  War  with  Eng- 
land.    1834-1850 127 

VIII.  The  Second  Foreign  War.    1850-1858     .         .         .  155 
IX.  The  Anglo-French  Wars.    1859-1860     ,         ,         .  169 


PART   III 

THE  MODERN   PHASE  OF  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE 
1860-1906 

X.  The  T'aip'ing  Rebellion.     1859- 1862      .         .         .   193 
XI.  The  Nienfei  and  Mohammedan  Rebellions.   185 i- 

1870 209 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.  The  Last  Years  of  T'ungchih  and  the  Accession 

OF    KWANGHSU.       187O-1895  ....    223 

XIII.  The  War  with  Japan.    1894-1895  .         .         .265 

XIV.  Reforms,   Reactions,   and   the   Boxer   Rebellion. 

1895-1900 .27s 


LATE  EVENTS   AND   PRESENT   CONDITIONS 
BY  J.  W.  JENKS,  PH.D. 

XV.  The  Coup  d'£tat  of  1898 289 

XVI.  The  Boxer  Movement.     1898-1903           .         .  .  296 

XVII.  The  Russo-Japanese  War.    1904-1905      .         ,  .  308 

XVIII.  The  Present  Situation.    1910        .         .         .  .318 

Bibliography         .        ...       ,„        .        „        ».       i.,       «.  .  325 

index                   ...            i«i            1*1            m            uu            i*j            lAi            Ml            m  •    333 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Surrender  of  Albazin  (Photogravure)      .        .    Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Heroes  and  Heroines  from  Early  Chinese  History  (Colored)  26 
The  Ancient  and  Respectable  Worship  of  Ancestors  .  .  40 
A  MiAOTzu  Family  Descending  a  Mountain  Track  .  .  94 
The  Island  of  Hongkong  Ceded  to  the  English  .  .  .134 
The  Procession  of  the  Dragon  in  the  Streets  of  Hongkong  162 
Administration  of  Chinese  Justice       .....   180 

Li  Hung  Chang 204 

General  Niegrier  Attacking  the  Stronghold  of  Langson  .  250 
The  Dowager  Empress  of  China   ......  278 


TEXT  MAPS 

PAGE 

Routes  of  Marco  Polo  ......       „,       r.     20 

China  Proper »     3^ 

Manchuria,  Mongolia,  and  Northern  China        .         .         .45 
The  Southern  Provinces      .         .         .         .         .        .         .     84 

Tibet  and  Nepal ,.:        .         .  loi 

Chinese  Eastern  Coast         ,...:.        .         .  139 

Treaty  Ports 166 

Districts  Ravaged  by  Insurrection       .....  216 
Center  of  Operations  in  the  Chino- Japanese  War        ,        „  267 


zm 


¥ 


PART  I 

THE   EMPIRE   BEFORE  THE  OPENING   OF 
FOREIGN  RELATIONS.    2500  B.  C-1796  A.  D. 


HISTORY  OF  CHINA 


Chapter  I 

THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF  THE  EMPIRE 
2500  B.  C.-i  100  A.  D. 

OF  all  the  great  empires  of  antiquity,  China  alone  has  pre- 
served her  existence  in  defiance  of  the  disintegrating  effects 
of  time  and  the  assaults  of  her  enemies.  While  the  ancient 
empires  of  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Assyria  have  waxed  and  waned, 
she  has  maintained  her  position  in  the  Eastern  world,  and  has 
enlarged  rather  than  diminished  her  boundaries. 

The  earliest  existing  records  of  the  people  describe  them  as  a 
small  body  of  settlers  dwelling  in  the  fertile  regions  of  northeastern 
China,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Yellow  River.  By  degrees  as 
they  consolidated  their  empire  and  established  a  definite  form 
of  government,  they  forced  back  the  native  tribes  which  had 
originally  hemmed  them  in,  and  extended  their  rule  over  the 
regions  lying  to  the  west  and  south  of  their  original  location.  As 
centuries  went  by  they  threw  out  colonies  into  the  outer  regions, 
and  after  the  manner  which  may  still  be  observed  in  their  dealings 
with  the  Manchurians  and  Mongolians,  made  these  colonies  first 
centers  for  the  spread  of  Chinese  influence,  and  then  bases  on 
which  to  work  the  lever  of  empire.  Pushing  on  in  this  way  they 
crossed  the  Yang-tsze-kiang  southward  in  the  third  century  b.  c, 
and  thenceforth  adding  province  to  province  they  established  the 
empire  as  it  now  exists.  Throughout  their  whole  history  they 
have  shown  a  marked  capacity  for  acquiring  territory,  and  this 
rather  by  the  peaceful  method  of  settling  on  the  neighboring  lands 
than  by  invasion  and  conquest.  They  have  none  of  the  character- 
istics of  a  warlike  race,  and  their  triumphs  over  less  cultivated  peo- 
ples have  been  gained  rather  by  peaceful  advance  than  by  force  of 
arms.  In  almost  every  respect  we  are  taught  by  their  records  that 
they  differed  essentially  from  the  tribes  by  whom  they  first  found 
themselves  surrounded,  and  hence  the  question  naturally  arises  who 
they  were,  and  whence  they  came. 


4.  CHINA 

2300-2004    B.   O. 

Many  suggestions  have  been  made  as  to  the  eadier  habitat  of 
this  people.  It  has  been  surmised  that  they  may  have  migrated 
from  the  plains  of  Sennaar;  that  they  were  a  colony  from  Egypt; 
and  that  they  possessed  a  Scythic  origin.  No  proofs  in  support 
of  these  guesses  at  history  have  been,  however,  forthcoming,  and 
it  was  reserved  for  the  late  Professor  Terrien  de  Lacouperie  to 
establish  with  many  incontestable  proofs  the  theory  that  they  had 
migrated  eastward  from  a  region  on  the  south  of  the  Caspian  Sea 
in  about  the  twenty-third  century  b.  c.  In  support  of  his  proposi- 
tion Professor  Terrien  de  Lacouperie  was  able  to  show  a  marked 
connection  between  many  of  the  primitive  written  characters  of 
the  languages  of  Akkadia  and  China ;  as  well  as  a  marked  affinity 
between  the  religious,  social,  and  scientific  institutions  and  beliefs 
of  the  two  peoples.  In  the  twelve  Pastors,  among  whom  the  Em- 
peror Yao  (2085-2004  B.  c.)  apportioned  the  empire,  he  saw  a 
reflection  of  the  twelve  Pastor  Princes  of  Susiana.  In  the  worship 
of  Shang-Ti  and  the  six  Honored  Ones  he  recognized  the  supreme 
god  and  the  six  subordinate  deities  of  the  Susians.  In  the  knowl- 
edge possessed  by  the  Chinese  of  astronomy  and  medicine  he  recog- 
nized an  identity  with  the  condition  of  those  sciences  in  Mesopo- 
tamia; and  he  also  drew  attention  to  the  fact  which  recent  exca- 
vations in  Babylonia  have  brought  to  our  knowledge,  that  the 
canals  and  artificial  water-ways  of  China  suggest  a  striking  like- 
ness to  the  canals  with  which  the  whole  of  Babylonia  must  have 
been  intersected,  and  which  cannot  but  have  been  as  characteristic 
a  feature  of  that  country  as  similar  works  are  of  China  at  the 
present  day. 

Vast  migrations  have  been  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Asiatic 
history,  and  even  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
a  body  of  Kalmucks,  numbering  six  hundred  thousand,  journeyed 
from  the  frontiers  of  Russia  to  the  confines  of  China.  This  migra- 
tion, which  De  Quincey  has  made  immortal,  is  but  an  example  of 
the  movements  which  have  constantly  taken  place  in  the  popula- 
tions of  Asia.  Plague,  famine,  political  disturbances  have  all  had 
their  influences  in  the  constant  distribution  of  the  tribes  and  na- 
tions of  the  East,  and  there  is,  therefore,  nothing  improbable  in 
the  supposed  movement  of  the  Chinese  tribes  from  Mesopotamia 
to  the  banks  of  the  Yellow  River.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  dis- 
cuss at  any  further  length  the  early  habitat  of  the  Chinese  people. 
In  this  work  we  are  mainly  interested  in  them  after  their  arrival 


EARLY     HISTORY  6 

2300-2004  B.  C. 

in  China,  and  for  the  purpose  of  this  preliminaiy  sketch  we 
are  not  called  upon  to  go  beyond  the  traditional  records  of  the 
nation. 

In  the  native  histories  the  records  of  the  race  are  traced  back 
to  a  period  which  dwarfs  into  insignificance  the  antiquity  of  Egypt 
or  Chaldea,  and  though  their  earlier  pages  rest  on  no  better  foun- 
dation than  traditional  fables,  there  is  yet  preserved  a  substratum 
of  fact  on  which  it  is  safe  to  rest.  Like  the  first  founders  of  every 
imperial  race  the  Chinese  leaders  of  antiquity  are  represented  as 
possessing  the  wisdom,  and  almost  the  power  of  the  gods.  One 
of  their  first  leaders,  Fuhsi  by  name,  has  earned  eternal  fame  as 
having  designed  the  six  classes  of  written  characters;  invented 
the  system  of  horary  and  cyclical  notation;  and  established 
the  laws  of  marriage,  as  well  as  having  devised  the  celebrated 
eight  Diagrams  which  are  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  basis 
of  the  renowned  "  Book  of  Changes."  His  successor,  Shennung, 
is  supposed  to  have  instructed  the  people  in  agriculture;  to 
have  established  public  markets;  and  to  have  discovered  the 
medicinal  properties  lying  dormant  in  the  herbs  of  the  field.  In 
the  portraits  common  to  official  biographies,  this  ancient  sage 
is  depicted  chewing  a  long  stalk  of  some  herb,  which  from  the 
expression  of  his  face  is  plainly  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  how- 
ever efficacious  it  may  be  as  a  medicine.  Hwangti,  the  next  sov- 
ereign, came  to  the  throne,  such  as  it  was,  in  2332  b.  c.  Like  those 
of  his  predecessors  his  reign  was  long,  and  is  said  to  have  extended 
over  a  full  century.  He  taught  his  people  to  manufacture  utensils 
of  wood,  pottery,  and  metal,  and  invented  a  medium  of  currency. 
Professor  Terrien  de  Lacouperie  finds  a  resemblance  between  his 
second  name,  Nai  Hwangti,  and  the  Nakhunte  of  Elamite  history, 
and  is  of  opinion  that  he  never  ruled  in  China.  But  however  that 
may  be,  native  historians  dwell  on  his  wisdom  and  virtue  with 
untiring  unction. 

With  the  advent  to  power  of  the  Emperor  Yao  (2085-2004 
B.  c.)  the  purely  fabulous  chapters  of  Chinese  history  may  be  said 
to  come  to  a  close,  and  at  this  point  Confucius  takes  up  the  pen. 
According  to  that  sage  Yao  was  "  all  informed,  intelligent,  ac- 
complished, and  thoughtful."  With  a  godlike  instinct  he  ruled 
the  "  black-haired  "  race,  and  by  the  influence  of  his  example,  as 
Confucius  insists,  he  led  all  men  to  him.  Under  his  benign  ad- 
ministration the  frontiers  of  the  empire  were  extended  from  23° 


6  CHINA 

2004-1687  B.  C. 

to  40°  north  latitude,  and  from  6°  west  of  Peking  to  10°  east  of 
that  city.  On  his  becoming  a  "  guest  on  high,"  Shun  was  chosen 
to  succeed  him,  and  it  was  during  the  reign  of  this  monarch  that 
a  great  flood,  which  was  considered  by  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries 
to  have  been  the  flood  of  Noah,  devastated  large  districts  of  the 
Chinese  states.  Pace  the  missionaries,  this  catastrophe  was  prob- 
ably nothing  more  than  one  of  those  outbreaks  of  the  Yellow  River 
which  periodically  lay  waste  the  country  lying  on  its  banks.  In 
this  case  Yu,  a  certain  official,  was  appointed  to  lead  the  waters 
back  to  their  original  channel.  His  labors,  we  are  told,  extended 
over  nine  years,  and  we  are  asked  to  believe  that  so  absorbed  was 
he  in  his  work  that  he  thrice  passed  the  door  of  his  house  without 
once  stopping  to  enter.  As  a  reward  for  this  signal  service  he  was 
raised  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  Shun,  and  became  the  first 
sovereign  of  the  Hsia  Dynasty  (1954-1687  b.  c).  Among  the 
other  exploits  of  this  sovereign  was  a  redivision  of  the  empire  into 
nine  instead  of  eleven  provinces,  a  description  of  which  rearrange- 
ment was  engraved,  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  on  nine  brazen  ves- 
sels ;  and  as  a  crowning  testimony  to  his  worth,  an  inscription  on  a 
stone  monument,  raised  for  the  purpose  on  Mount  Heng,  recorded 
the  benefits  which  he  is  believed  to  have  conferred  on  his  subjects. 
Sixteen  sovereigns  ruled  in  succession  to  Yii,  and  as  has  been 
constantly  the  case,  not  only  in  China,  but  in  other  Oriental  coun- 
tries, there  was  a  woeful  falling  off  in  his  successors  on  the  throne 
from  the  higher  standard  which  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  had 
set  them.  The  earnestness  and  single-mindedness  which  belonged 
to  Yii,  and  on  which  the  native  historians  delight  to  linger,  no 
longer  animated  his  unworthy  followers  on  the  throne.  Self-in- 
dulgence and  cruelty  became  more  and  more  accentuated  as  ruler 
after  ruler  accepted  the  scepter  of  empire,  until  all  the  worst  pas- 
sions of  his  predecessors  found  expression  in  the  conduct  of  Chieh 
Kwei,  who  reigned  from  1739  to  1687  b.  c.  According  to  the  tra- 
ditional belief  of  the  ancient  Chinese,  a  belief  which  was  strongly 
insisted  upon  by  the  philosopher  Mencius,  it  becomes  the  bounden 
duty  of  a  people  to  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion  when  the  ruler 
persistently  acts  in  opposition  to  the  laws  of  heaven.  Such  a  crisis 
had  now  arrived.  By  public  oppression  of  the  people,  and  private 
outrages  on  their  properties  and  persons,  Chieh  Kwei  placed  him- 
self beyond  the  pale.  With  one  consent  his  subjects  rose  against 
him  under  the  leadership  of  a  man  named  T'ang,  "  the  Complete," 


EARLY     HISTORY  7 

1687-1122    B.    C. 

who  justified  this  epithet  by  dethroning  the  emperor  and  proclaim- 
ing himself  sovereign  by  the  grace  of  God. 

The  story  of  the  Shang  or  Yin  Dynasty,  as  it  is  variously 
called,  is  but  a  repetition  of  that  of  Hsia.  The  virtuous  impetus 
which  placed  the  scepter  in  T'ang's  hand  was  gradually  dissipated 
in  the  twenty-eight  reigns  which  followed  in  succession  to  his. 
Historians  make  a  distinction  in  favor  of  one  or  two  of  his  de- 
scendants, but  the  general  tendency  was  downward  and  like  an- 
other Chieh  Kwei,  Chow  Sin  brought  the  dynasty  to  an  end  by  his 
crimes  and  iniquities.  "  Wild  extravagance,  unbridled  lust,  and 
the  most  ferocious  cruelty  are  enumerated  among  his  vices.  To 
please  his  infamous  concubine,  T'aki,  he  constructed  vast  palaces 
and  pleasure  grounds  where  every  form  of  wild  debauchery  was 
continually  practiced."  As  was  said  by  a  famous  statesman  of  the 
time,  "  the  house  of  Yin  can  no  longer  exercise  rule  over  the  four 
quarters  of  the  empire.  The  great  deeds  of  our  founder  have 
enjoyed  and  still  enjoy  a  wide  renown,  but  we  by  being  lost  and 
maddened  with  wine  have  destroyed  the  effects  of  his  virtue  in 
these  latter  days.  The  people  of  Yin,  both  small  and  great,  are 
given  to  highway  robberies,  villainies,  and  treachery.  The  nobles 
and  officers  imitate  one  another  in  violating  the  laws.  Evil-doers 
receive  no  punishment,  and  the  people  rise  up  and  commit  violent 
outrages  on  one  another.  The  dynasty  of  Yin  is  now  sinking  to 
its  ruin.  Its  condition  is  like  one  crossing  a  river  who  can  find 
neither  ford  nor  bank." 

To  the  remonstrances  of  his  ministers  Chow  Sin  turned  a  deaf 
ear,  and,  in  a  conversation  reported  by  Confucius,  comforted  him- 
self with  the  reflection  that  as  emperor  he  was  under  the  protection 
of  high  heaven.  "  Your  crimes,"  replied  the  officer,  "  which  are 
many,  are  chronicled  above,  and  how  can  you  speak  of  your  fate 
as  though  it  were  in  the  charge  of  heaven?  Yin  will  shortly  per- 
ish. As  to  your  deeds  they  can  but  bring  ruin  on  the  country." 
This  prophecy  was  soon  to  be  fulfilled.  A  leader  of  rebellion  was 
found  in  the  "  Warlike  Prince,"  who  drove  the  emperor  from  his 
throne  and  urged  him  to  suicide.  This  action,  which  has  all  the 
appearance  of  being  revolutionary,  was  nevertheless  strictly  in  ac- 
cordance with  Chinese  morality  and  met  with  the  entire  approval 
of  the  philosopher,  Mencius.  "  He  who  outrages  benevolence," 
said  that  sage,  "  is  called  a  ruffian :  he  who  outrages  righteousness 
is  called  a  villain.    The  ruffian  and  the  villain  we  call  a  mere  fel- 


8  CHINA 

1122-946   B.   C. 

low.  I  have  heard  of  the  cutting  off  of  the  fellow  Chow,  but  I 
have  not  heard  of  the  putting  of  a  ruler  to  death." 

Following  the  usual  precedent  of  successful  rebel  leaders  the 
"  Warlike  Prince "  seized  the  imperial  scepter  with  the  full  ap- 
proval of  the  nation.  Historians  of  every  class,  from  Confucius 
downward,  have  poured  unceasing  praise  on  the  administration  of 
the  usurper,  who,  if  these  authorities  are  to  be  believed,  was  graced 
with  every  virtue  that  befits  a  monarch.  By  his  magnanimous  con- 
duct he  fulfilled  the  criterion  of  an  exemplary  ruler  laid  down  by 
Confucius,  by  drawing  all  men  to  him.  During  his  reign  em- 
bassies arrived  from  the  kings  of  Korea,  Cochin  China,  and  other 
distant  regions.  In  his  warlike  expeditions  he  was  uniformly  suc- 
cessful, and  he  left  to  his  successor  a  frontier  which  was  respected 
by  his  enemies  and  an  empire  which  was  the  envy  of  his  allies. 
Happily  for  the  state  the  succeeding  two  or  three  sovereigns  worth- 
ily maintained  the  standard  set  them  by  their  great  predecessor. 
They  consolidated  the  empire  and  secured  the  loyalty  and  service 
of  the  feudal  states.  History  does  not  concern  itself  much  with 
the  majority  of  the  later  rulers  of  the  house  of  Chow,  as  the  new 
dynasty  was  styled,  but  draws  attention  with  some  emphasis  to 
Mu  Wang  (1001-946  b.  c),  and  finds  food  for  reflection  in  his  con- 
duct. To  his  charge  is  laid  the  crime  of  having  introduced  the 
system  of  redeeming  offenses  by  the  payment  of  fines,  and  of  hav- 
ing thus  set  the  example  of  bribery  and  corruption  which  has 
since  wrought  such  havoc  in  the  morals  of  the  people  and  their 
rulers.  On  the  other  side  of  the  shield  there  is  told  of  him  that  he 
prosecuted  successful  wars  against  the  tribes  on  the  western  fron- 
tier, a  fact  which  has  given  rise  to  a  legendary  account  of  a  journey 
which  he  is  supposed  to  have  made  to  the  borders  of  the  Lake  of 
Gems,  where  he  is  said  to  have  been  hospitably  entertained,  with 
all  the  delights  of  a  Mussulman's  Paradise,  by  the  "  Royal  Mother 
of  the  West." 

Rightly  to  understand  the  condition  of  the  country  at  this 
period,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that  the  kingdom  was  formed 
of  a  congeries  of  states,  each  of  which  was  ruled  over  by  its  own 
sovereign,  and  each  of  which  owed  the  limp  and  uncertain  fealty 
common  to  subordinate  Oriental  princedoms  to  the  elected  sov- 
ereign of  the  predominant  kingdom  of  Chow.  No  common  patri- 
otism bound  these  feudatories  to  their  liege  lord,  and  it  was  only 
by  the  strength  of  his  right  arm  that  he  preserved  his  lordship  over 


EARLY    HISTORY  9 

946-550  B.  C. 

them.  Any  sign  of  the  weakening  of  his  authority  was  naturally 
the  signal  for  a  rising  on  the  part  of  the  more  restless  princekins 
against  his  power.  As  time  went  on  and  the  Chow  state  fluctuated 
in  wealth  and  influence,  the  uprisings  of  the  more  ambitious 
feudatories  became  more  threatening  and  frequent.  The  country 
became  distracted  by  obscure  quarrels,  and  open  disorder,  until  as 
the  philosopher  Mencius  graphically  writes :  "  A  host  marches  and 
stores  of  provisions  are  consumed,  the  hungry  are  deprived  of  their 
food*  and  there  is  no  rest  for  those  who  are  called  on  to  toil.  Male- 
dictions are  uttered  from  one  to  another  with  eyes  askance,  and  the 
people  proceed  to  the  commission  of  wickedness.  Then  the  royal 
ordinances  are  violated,  the  people  are  oppressed,  and  the  supplies 
of  food  and  drink  flow  away  like  water.  The  rulers  yield  them- 
selves to  the  current  or  they  urge  their  way  against  it.  They  are 
wild,  they  are  lost.  The  crime  of  him  who  connives  at  it  and  aids 
the  wickedness  of  his  ruler  is  small,  but  the  crime  of  him  who  an- 
ticipates and  excites  that  wickedness  is  great.  The  great  officers 
of  the  present  day  are  all  guilty  of  this  latter  crime,  and  I  say  that 
they  are  sinners  against  the  princes.  Sage  kings  do  not  arise,  and 
the  princes  of  the  states  give  reins  to  their  lusts.  In  their  stalls 
there  are  fat  beasts,  and  in  their  stables  there  are  fat  horses;  but 
their  people  have  the  look  of  hunger,  and  in  their  fields  there  are 
those  who  have  died  of  famine.  This  is  leading  on  beasts  to  de- 
vour men." 

It  was  while  the  country  was  in  a  condition  similar  to  that  de- 
scribed above  that  Confucius  was  born.  We  might  leave  the 
legendary  accounts  of  his  miraculous  birth  and  early  days  to  the 
recounters  of  fables,  and  it  is  only  necessary  for  us  here  briefly  to 
consider  his  influence  on  politics.  To  students  of  Chinese  history 
that  influence  appears  to  be  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  weight  of 
his  words,  and  the  convincing  force  of  his  doctrines.  He  found 
the  empire  tempest-tossed  with  faction  and  disloyalty,  and  he  be- 
lieved it  to  be  his  mission  to  lead  back  the  sovereign  and  his  people 
to  the  orthodox  condition  of  affairs  which  existed  when  Yao  meted 
out  the  heavens  and  the  "  Warlike  Prince  "  exercised  his  patri- 
archal sway.  His  constant  theme  was  the  virtue  of  the  ancient 
sages,  and  his  panacea  for  all  political  ills  was  a  return  to  the  tra- 
ditional virtue  of  those  great  men.  During  his  lifetime  he  was 
scouted  by  not  a  few  rulers  and  princekins,  and  achieved  success 
only  when  his  influence  was  regarded  as  necessary  for  the  support 


10  CHINA 

B50-300  B.  C. 

of  some  ruler  or  cause.  It  was  only  af^r  his  death  that  people 
turned  to  him  as  to  a  great  leader  of  mankind,  and  for  more  than 
three  and  twenty  centuries  his  teachings  have  been  the  guiding 
star  of  the  nation  through  all  its  many  changes  and  chances. 
Loudly  he  deplored  the  anarchy  of  the  time,  and  as  an  illustration 
in  point  it  is  told  of  him  that  on  one  occasion  as  he  journeyed  from 
his  native  state  to  that  of  Ch'i  he  saw  a  w;oman  weeping  by  a  tomb 
at  the  roadside,  to  whom,  having  compassion  upon  her,  he  sent  a 
disciple  to  ask  the  cause  of  her  grief.  "  You  weep,"  said  the  mes- 
senger, "  as  if  you  had  experienced  sorrow  upon  sorrow."  "  I 
have,"  said  the  woman.  "  My  father-in-law  was  killed  here  by  a 
tiger,  and  my  husband  also;  and  now  my  son  has  met  the  same 
fate."  "Why  then  do  you  not  move  from  this  place?"  asked 
Confucius.  "  Because  here  there  is  no  oppressive  government," 
answered  the  woman.  Turning  to  his  disciples  Confucius  re- 
marked, "  My  children,  remember  this :  oppressive  government  is 
fiercer  than  a  tiger." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  warnings  of  Confucius  and  the  more 
philosophical  teachings  of  Lao  Tsze,  the  founder  of  Taoism,  dis- 
orders increased  on  every  side,  and  there  were  not  wanting  ominous 
signs  which  were  regarded  by  native  authorities  as  foretelling  the 
downfall  of  the  Chow  Dynasty.  The  brazen  vessels  which  had 
been  set  up  by  the  great  Yii  were  seen  to  shake  and  totter  as  though 
presaging  a  political  catastrophe;  famine  and  pestilence  stalked 
through  the  land;  and  on  all  sides  men's  hearts  failed  them  for 
fear.  It  is  at  such  times  as  these  that  an  ambitious  leader  can 
find  his  opportunity,  and  in  this  case  the  ruler  of  the  Ch'in 
Dynasty,  seizing  his  advantage,  made  war  against  the  imperial 
state,  which  was  already  tottering  to  its  fall.  After  a  series  of  vic- 
tories he  claimed  the  throne  by  right  of  conquest,  and  established 
himself  as  the  first  sovereign  of  the  short-lived  Ch'in  Dynasty. 
Neither  this  man  nor  his  two  successors  on  the  throne  were  men 
of  mark,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  sovereign  who  followed 
them  the  imperial  line  would  have  sunk  into  oblivion  "unwept, 
unhonored,  and  unsung."  They  initiated  little  and  accomplished 
little,  but  this  at  least  cannot  be  said  of  their  successor. 

The  evils  of  the  feudal  system  had  long  been  patent,  but  no 
one  had  hitherto  arisen  who  was  bold  enough  so  to  fly  in  the  face 
of  precedent  and  history  as  to  attempt  a  reform  in  the  constitution. 
Ascribing  all  the  evils  under  which  his  country  had  so  long  suffered 


EARLY     HISTORY  11 

300-249  B.  C. 

to  the  system  which  for  so  many  years  had  guided  its  destiny,  Shih 
Hwang^i  determined  once  and  for  all  to  put  an  end  to  the  petty 
jealousies  among  the  states  by  establishing  an  empire,  and  pro- 
claiming himself  the  first  universal  sovereign. 

To  this  reform  the  literary  classes  offered  a  determined  op- 
position. All  the  national  love  for  antiquity  accentuated  by  the 
sayings  and  writings  of  Confucius  and  his  followers  was  outraged 
by  this  draconic  measure.  They  pointed  back  to  the  halcyon  days 
when  the  "  Warlike  Prince "  and  his  immediate  followers  ruled 
over  the  united  states  in  peace  and  harmony,  and  quoted  the  works 
edited  by  Confucius  as  evidence  of  the  prosperous  condition  which 
existed  under  those  favored  circumstances.  So  serious  was  the 
opposition  thus  presented  that  the  emperor,  who  knew  nothing  of 
half  measures,  determined  to  wrest  from  his  critics  the  evidences 
which  they  were  so  fond  of  producing.  With  this  intention  he 
issued  an  edict  commanding  that  all  the  existing  literature  in  the 
country,  with  the  exception  of  works  on  divination  and  medicine, 
should  be  destroyed.  From  the  nature  of  this  decree  it  was  plainly 
impossible  that  it  could  be  carried  out  in  its  entirety.  But  so  far 
as  possible  it  was  given  effect  to,  notwithstanding  the  determined 
resistance  of  the  Literati,  many  of  whom  perished  at  the  block 
rather  than  commit  their  cherished  volumes  to  the  flames.  To  a 
certain  extent  the  imrnediate  effect  of  the  measure  was  successful, 
and  the  prosperity  which  the  new  policy  secured  for  the  nation  at 
large  gained  for  its  author  very  general  support.  With  genuine 
zeal  he  also  set  himself  to  improve  the  material  condition  of  the 
country,  and  recognizing  the  importance,  both  political  and  com- 
mercial, of  providing  means  of  communication  between  the  several 
states,  he  constructed  roads  in  all  directions,  spanned  the  river 
with  bridges,  and  encouraged  by  every  method  in  his  power  the 
means  of  locomotion.  At  this  time  the  Tartars  were  constantly 
threatening  the  northern  frontier,  and  realizing  that  it  was  as 
necessary  to  protect  his  subjects  from  foreign  foes  as  to  promote 
their  internal  prosperity,  he  constructed  the  Great  Wall,  which, 
stretching  from  the  sea  at  the  120th  degree  of  longitude,  and  fring- 
ing the  northern  frontier  of  the  empire  to  the  looth  degree,  still 
stands  as  a  monument  of  the  energetic  administration  of  this  great 
sovereign.  Unhappily,  no  hereditary  instincts  guided  his  successor 
into  his  paths,  and  during  the  short  reign — three  years — of  this 
last  emperor  of  the  Ch'in  Dynasty,  the  country,  instead  of  ad- 


12  CHINA 

249-206  B.  C. 

vancing  toward  consolidation,  became  the  prey  of  constant  civil 
war,  and  of  every  form  of  brigandage. 

With  dramatic  propriety  a  leader  arose  at  this  troublous 
period  who  showed  himself  to  be  a  man  standing  head  and  shoul- 
ders above  his  compeers.  The  historian  of  the  Han  Dynasty  tells 
us  that,  like  another  Macbeth,  when  first  taking  the  field  this  man 
encountered  a  soothsayer  who  foretold  his  future  greatness.  With 
commendable  rapidity  this  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  and  the  object 
of  it  was  universally  hailed  as  the  first  emperor  of  a  new  dynasty, 
to  which  he  gave  the  title  of  Han  from  the  name  of  his  native 
state. 

Time  had  at  length  accustomed  the  people  of  all  classes  to 
the  abolition  of  the  feudal  states,  and  the  new  emperor,  Kaoti,  felt 
that  there  was  no  longer  any  need  to  cut  the  nation  adrift  from  the 
sheet  anchor  of  its  native  literature.  The  Literati  also  were  still 
hankering  after  their  literary  gods.  Their  influence  was  also 
plainly  an  appreciable  quantity,  and  Kaoti  determined  to  secure 
it  on  his  behalf  by  resuscitating  such  works  as  it  was  possible  to 
recover.  Under  his  protecting  influence  the  Literati  undertook  the 
congenial  task  of  searching  for  any  stray  copies  of  the  classics  and 
other  works  which  might  have  escaped  the  holocaust  of  the  books. 
Phoenix-like  the  old  literature  rose  from  its  ashes.  From  the  sides 
of  caves,  from  the  roofs  of  houses,  and  the  banks  of  rivers,  volumes 
were  produced  by  those  who  had  risked  their  lives  for  their  preser- 
vation, and  history  states  that  from  the  lips  of  old  men  were  taken 
down  ancient  texts  which  had  everywhere  perished  except  in  the 
retentive  memories  of  veteran  scholars.  While  reversing  this  part 
of  the  work  of  the  first  great  emperor,  Kaoti  followed  his  example 
in  still  further  improving  the  means  of  communication  in  the  em- 
pire, and  to  engineers  employed  by  him  belongs  the  credit,  among 
other  enterprises,  of  having  constructed  the  first  suspension  bridges 
known  to  exist  in  the  world. 

The  Han  period  is  universally  regarded  by  Chinamen  as  one 
of  the  most  glorious  epochs  in  their  history.  They  know  no 
prouder  title  than  that  by  which  they  delight  to  be  called,  the  Sons 
of  Han,  and  this  Is  no  doubt  mainly  due  to  the  extraordinary  re- 
vival of  letters  which  took  place  under  the  new  line  of  sovereigns. 
It  is  true  that  Kaoti  shared  to  some  extent  the  suspicions  enter- 
tained of  the  Literati  by  the  burner  of  the  books,  but  his  successors, 
taking  a  truer  view  of  the  position,  did  all  that  lay  in  their  power 


EARLY     HISTORY  13 

206    B.    C.-221    A.    D. 

to  encourage  the  literary  spirit  of  the  nation.  So  keen  was  the 
zeal  of  the  people  in  the  cause  that  not  only  were  the  old  texts 
restored,  but  a  new  and  scholarly  school  of  letters  was  brought  into 
being.  In  every  branch  of  literature  the  greatest  activity  was  dis- 
played, and  whereas  it  may  be  said  that  when  Kaoti  ascended  the 
throne  in  206  b.  c.  polite  literature  was  non-existent,  the  fact  re- 
mains that  before  the  dawn  of  the  Christian  era  the  imperial  library 
possessed  upon  its  shelves  3123  works  on  the  classics,  2705  on 
philosophy,  and  1383  on  poetry.  But  not  alone  in  the  peaceful 
paths  of  literature  did  the  empire  make  giant  strides  at  this  period. 
The  nation's  arms  and  diplomacy  were  carried  far  beyond  the  fron- 
tier into  the  little  known  region  of  central  Asia.  In  the  second 
century  b.  c.  the  envoy  Chang  Ch'ien  visited  the  court  of  eastern 
Turkestan,  and  two  centuries  later  an  army  under  General  Pan 
Ch'ao  marched  to  Khoten,  and  even  carried  their  country's  flag 
to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  On  the  southern  and  northeast- 
ern frontier^.  Cochin  China,  and  the  Liaotung  peninsula,  which 
has  figured  so  prominently  in  later  Eastern  politics,  were  con- 
quered and  reduced  to  the  condition  of  feudatories,  while  Yunnan 
was  incorporated  into  the  empire. 

But  by  no  means  the  least  momentous  event  of  the  period 
was  the  introduction  of  Buddhism.  The  histories  affirm  that  one 
night  the  Emperor  Mingti  (58-76  A.  d.)  saw  in  a  vision  on  his  bed 
a  golden  image  which  bade  him  send  to  the  western  countries  to 
search  for  Buddha,  and  for  books  and  images  to  illustrate  the 
doctrines  of  the  holy  man.  In  obedience  to  this  command  he, 
without  loss  of  time,  dispatched  envoys  to  India,  who  after  an 
absence  of  eleven  years  returned,  bringing  with  them  books, 
images,  and  drawings,  together  with  an  ordained  priest  of  the  new 
faith.  This  pioneer  missionary  was  followed  by  others  who,  with 
extraordinary  diligence,  translated  a  number  of  the  Sanskrit  Sutras 
into  Chinese.  But  all  these  achievements  failed  to  preserve  the 
dynasty  from  that  decadence  which  seems  to  be  the  natural  fate 
of  Chinese  imperial  houses.  Toward  the  end  of  the  second  cen- 
tury of  our  era  there  occurred  all  those  signs  and  symptoms  of 
an  impending  political  change  to  which  the  nation  had  now  become 
accustomed.  Three  leaders  arose.  One  in  the  state  of  Shuh, 
one  in  Wei,  and  one  in  Wu.  Against  these  men  Hsienti,  the 
reigning  sovereign  from  190  to  221  a.  d.,  was  unable  to  maintain 
his  position,  and  having  retired  with  a  certain  pusillanimity  into 


14  CHINA 

221-579  A.  D. 

private  life,  left  his  empire  to  be  contended  for  by  the  three  chief- 
tains. Then  followed  a  period  of  bitter  internecine  strife,  and  the 
period  is  notorious  in  Chinese  history  for  the  more  than  usually 
savage  wars  which  disturbed  the  peace  and  well-being  of  the 
people.  Weary  of  the  tumult  under  which  they  suffered,  the  na- 
tion welcomed  the  advent  of  a  new  dynasty,  that  of  the  Western 
Chin,  in  the  year  265  a.  d. 

Buddhism,  which  had  hitherto  only  received  partial  support, 
now  gained  powerful  protectors  in  the  sovereigns  of  the  new  line. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  the  Qiinese  Buddhist  Fa-hsien  made 
an  expedition  to  India  to  examine  the  sites  sacred  to  the  sage,  and 
to  possess  himself  of  such  canonical  works  as  were  still  unknown 
to  his  countrymen.  After  an  absence  of  fourteen  years  he  re- 
turned by  sea  from  Ceylon,  bringing  with  him  a  library  of  books 
and  notes  which  in  subsequent  years  of  leisure  enabled  him  to  write 
the  interesting  record  of  his  travels  which  is  known  to  European 
readers  through  the  fascinating  translations  of  Remusat  and  Beal. 
At  the  close  of  the  Chin  Dynasty  in  419  the  empire  again  suffered 
division,  and  for  a  hundred  and  sixty  years  six  states  fought  for 
supremacy  in  the  distracted  provinces.  A  short  dynasty  (about 
thirty  years)  followed  which  was  notorious  only  for  the  reign  of 
one  sovereign,  Yangti,  who  devoted  himself  with  laudable  energy 
to  the  construction  of  canals  in  the  eastern  and  central  portions 
of  the  empire  where  alone  they  were  possible.  On  the  ashes  of 
this  dynasty  rose  the  house  of  T'ang,  whose  appearance  on  the 
imperial  stage  opened  the  period  which  is  well  described  as  the 
Augustan  Age  of  Chinese  literature.  The  keynote  of  the  great 
emperors  of  this  line  was  to  restore  in  their  fullness  the  ancient 
beliefs  and  traditions  which  had  been  consecrated  by  the  approval 
of  Confucius.  In  pursuance  of  this  tendency  many  of  them  dis- 
couraged in  every  way  in  their  power  the  foreign  religion  which 
had  been  introduced  from  India.  Already  monasteries  had  sprung 
up  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  it  is  possible  that  then,  as 
now,  these  were  occasionally  hotbeds  of  treason  and  sedition.  But 
however  that  may  be,  several  decrees  were  issued  commanding  the 
monks  to  range  themselves  as  Benedicts,  and  to  rejoin  the  ranks 
of  civil  life,  which  in  their  mistaken  zeal  they  had  deserted  for 
the  cloister. 

But  the  chief  glory  of  the  dynasty  was  the  literature  which 
sprang  up  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  rulers.     Poets,  essayists, 


EARLY     HISTORY  15 

579-907 

and  historians  poured  out  from  their  studies  volumes  which 
charmed  their  contemporaries  as  much  as  they  delight  students  and 
scholars  of  the  present  day.  In  every  library  in  China  will  now 
be  found  "  The  Complete  Poems  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty,"  while 
numberless  volumes  of  the  polite  literature  of  the  period  still  hold 
unrivaled  sway  in  the  opinion  of  the  Literati.  In  the  field  of  battle 
the  nation  was  as  successful  as  in  the  arena  of  literature.  With 
skill  and  success  the  districts  of  Hamil,  Turfan,  and  the  Ouigour 
country  were  added  to  the  empire,  and  thus  brought  Far  Cathay 
within  the  cognizance  of  western  Asia,  and  even  of  the  confines 
of  Europe.  The  See  of  Rome,  eager  to  extend  its  influence  and 
to  gain  converts  to  the  faith,  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
thus  offered  to  dispatch  an  embassy  to  the  Chinese  court,  but 
the  Papal  envoy  found  already  assembled  there  envoys  from  Persia 
and  Nepaul.  Already  the  Nestorian  Christians  had  sent  mis- 
sionaries to  proclaim  the  truth,  as  they  had  received  it,  and  though 
little  is  said  on  the  subject  in  the  histories,  it  is  plain  that  con- 
siderable success  attended  their  efforts.  A  striking  testimony  to 
this  is  found  in  a  monument  which  stands  at  the  present  day  in 
the  city  of  Hsian  Fu,  on  which  is  inscribed  a  record  of  this  first 
attempt  to  introduce  Christianity  into  China. 

As  time  went  on,  however,  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  empire 
fell  into  that  disorder  which  always  accompanies  the  declining 
years  of  dynasties.  Twenty-three  sovereigns  of  the  line  of  T'ang 
sat  in  succession  on  the  throne,  and  the  reigns  of  many  of  these 
were  marked  rather  by  feeble  administration  than  by  any  other 
characteristic.  One  exception  to  this  criticism  was  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Empress  Wu,  who  held  the  scepter  from  684  to  710.  Having 
set  aside  the  rightful  sovereign,  she  usurped  the  throne,  and  by  her 
wisdom  and  energy  secured  a  brief  space  of  peace  with  honor 
for  her  distracted  countrymen.  This  dynasty,  which  began  by 
extending  religious  toleration  to  all  beliefs,  in  course  of  time  inaug- 
urated that  persecution  of  Christians  which  has  been  intermit- 
tently carried  on  ever  since,  and  even  laid  heavy  hands  on  followers 
of  Mohammed  and  Buddha.  It  was  during  these  restless  days  that 
Tu  Fu  and  Li  T'aipo  wrote  those  poems  on  the  beauties  of  nature 
and  the  pleasures  of  wine,  which  have  made  their  names  immortal 
— at  least,  within  the  frontiers  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  At  length, 
in  907,  the  imperial  line,  with  all  its  glories  and  all  its  disgraces, 
passed  away,  and  was  followed  by  a  succession  of  short  dynasties, 


16  CHINA 

907-1162 

which  did  little  more  than  keep  alive  the  idea  of  empire,  until  the 
rise  of  the  Sung  power  in  960. 

At  the  close  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty,  a  tribe  appeared  on  the 
frontiers  of  China  which  was  destined  to  exercise  a  vast  influence 
on  the  fortunes  of  the  country.  The  Tartars,  who  had  constantly 
raided  the  northern  provinces,  now  appeared  in  force,  and  so  suc- 
cessfully waged  war  on  the  southern  empire  that  they  secured  for 
themselves  the  China  of  that  day  from  the  River  Yangtsze  north- 
ward. These  hardy  warriors  were  known  as  K'itan,  the  word 
from  which  the  medieval  name  of  Cathay  is  derived,  and  which, 
under  the  form  of  K'itai,  is  still  that  by  which  China  is  known  to 
the  Russian  people.  The  supremacy  of  these  nomads  was  not, 
however,  of  very  long  duration.  After  a  rule  of  less  than  two 
hundred  years  they  yielded  place  to  their  congenitors,  the  Kin 
Tartars,  the  progenitors  of  the  present  ruling  sovereigns,  who 
in  their  turn  divided  with  Sung  the  whole  empire. 


Chapter    II 

THE   YUAN   AND    MING    DYNASTIES.     1260-1644 

BUT  while  constant  war  was  being  carried  on  between  the 
k  Kin  and  Sung  dynasties,  yet  another  power  was  rising  on 
'the  MongoHan  steppes  destined  to  crush  both  under  its  iron 
heel.  In  the  valley  of  the  Onon,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Karakorum  hills,  was  fostered  a  Mongol  chief,  who  in  the  near 
future  was  to  be  classed  among  the  greatest  rulers  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  The  parentage  of  Jenghiz  Khan  differed  little  from 
that  of  those  about  him,  but  from  an  early  age  Nature  had  marked 
him  out  as  a  leader  of  men.  While  yet  young  he  was  chosen  as 
khan  of  his  tribe,  and  led  his  followers  in  a  succession  of  cam- 
paigns against  the  neighboring  chieftains.  Having  humbled  these 
rulers  to  the  dust,  and  having  swept  their  vanquished  followers  into 
his  ranks,  he  braced  himself  up  to  more  serious  warfare. 

The  kingdom  of  Hsia,  which  consisted  of  the  modern  provinces 
of  Kansu  and  Shensi,  though  not  a  fertile  territory  was,  by  com- 
parison with  the  cold  and  bleak  steppes  of  Mongolia,  a  land  flow- 
ing with  milk  and  honey.  Without  much  difficulty  Jenghiz  Khan's 
hardy  warriors  subdued  this  country  under  them,  and  aspiring  to 
fresh  conquests,  invaded  the  territory  ruled  over  by  the  Kin  Dynasty 
in  the  year  121 1.  This  campaign  was  partially  successful,  and  at 
its  conclusion  Jenghiz,  as  was  his  wont,  retired  to  his  Ordu  on 
the  River  Onon,  to  recruit  his  forces,  and  to  collect  his  strength 
for  a  second  onslaught.  Two  years  later  he  again  took  the  field, 
and,  overrunning  the  modem  province  of  Chihli,  laid  waste  ninety 
of  its  fairest  cities,  including  the  Kin  capital,  which  stood  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  modern  Peking.  Leaving  an  occupying  force 
to  preserve  his  newly  acquired  rights,  Jenghiz  turned  his  attention 
westward,  and  with  marvelous  speed  and  thoroughness  gathered 
within  his  borders  the  districts  of  Kashgar,  Yarkand,  and  Khoten. 
Even  such  vast  conquests  as  these  failed  to  satisfy  the  lust  for  em- 
pire which  had  taken  possession  of  the  Mongol  chieftain.  On  one 
excuse  or  another,  he  led  his  troops  of  nomad  horsemen  against 

17 


18  CHINA 

1213-1247 

the  kingdom  of  Khuarezm,  and  having  swept  over  its  richest 
provinces,  advanced  into  Georgia  and  western  Europe.  With 
irresistible  force,  aided  no  doubt  by  the  terror  which,  as  the  "  curse 
of  God,"  he  inspired,  he  captured  Moscow  and  Kiev,  the  Jerusalem 
of  Russia,  and  did  not  draw  rein  until  he  had  advanced  as  far  as 
Cracow  and  Pesth.  After  having  laid  waste  all  these  cities  so 
that,  as  he  boasted,  he  could  ride  over  their  sites  without  meeting 
an  obstacle  sufficient  to  make  his  "  horse  stumble,"  he  returned  to 
Mongolia,  and  there  died  in  the  year  1227.  Meanwhile  his  gen- 
erals had  not  been  idle  in  China,  but  had  advanced  his  conquests 
to  the  fertile  region  within  the  eastern  bend  of  the  Yellow  River, 
thus  securing  a  rich  inheritance  to  his  successor  Oghotai. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  this  monarch  that  the  first  Catholic 
missionaries  carried  the  light  of  Christian  civilization  to  the  dark 
regions  of  Mongolia.  "  It  is  worthy  of  the  grateful  remembrance 
of  all  Christian  people,"  says  the  missionary  Friar  Ricold,  of  Monte 
Croce,  as  quoted  by  Colonel  Yule,  "  that  just  at  the  time  when  God 
had  sent  forth  into  the  western  parts  of  the  world  the  Tartars  to 
slay  and  to  be  slain,  He  also  sent  into  the  East  His  faithful  serv- 
ants Dominic  and  Francis  to  enlighten,  instruct,  and  build  up  in 
the  Faith."  Little  or  nothing  is  known  of  these  messengers  of  the 
gospel,  but  in  the  years  1245- 1247  John  de  Piano  Carpini  presented 
himself  before  Mangu  Khan,  and  has  left  us  an  account  of  his 
observations.  Though  he  failed  to  reach  China,  he  saw  a  number 
of  its  subjects  at  the  Mongol  court,  and  describes  them  as  "  heathen 
men,"  but  "  having  a  written  character  of  their  own.  They  seem," 
he  says,  "  indeed  to  be  kindly  and  polished  folks  enough.  They 
have  no  beard,  and  in  character  of  countenance  have  a  considerable 
resemblance  to  the  Mongols,  but  are  not  so  broad  in  the  face. 
They  have  a  peculiar  language.  Their  betters  as  craftsmen  in 
every  art  practiced  by  men  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  whole  world. 
Their  country  is  very  rich  in  corn,  in  wine,  in  gold  and  silver,  in 
silk,  and  in  every  kind  of  produce  tending  to  the  support  of 
mankind." 

Some  few  years  later  the  Franciscan  Friar  Rubruquis  followed 
in  Carpini' s  footsteps,  and  as  a  result  of  shrewd  observation  sup- 
plements the  very  graphic  account  left  us  by  Carpini.  In  great 
Cathay  or  China  he  recognizes  the  land  of  the  Ceres  with  which 
we  are  made  familiar  by  the  writings  of  the  Latin  poets  of  the 
Augustan  Age.     "  Those  Cathayans,"  he  adds,  "  are  little  fellows, 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  19 

1247-1271 

speaking  much  through  the  nose,  and  as  is  general  with  all  those 
Eastern  people,  their  eyes  are  very  narrow.  They  are  first-rate 
artists  of  every  kind,  and  their  physicians  have  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  virtues  of  herbs,  and  an  admirable  skill  in  diagnosis 
by  the  pulse.  The  common  money  of  Cathay  consists  of  pieces  of 
cotton  paper  about  a  palm  in  length  and  breadth,  upon  which  lines 
are  printed  resembling  the  seals  of  Mangu  Khan  (the  third  in  suc- 
cession from  Jenghiz  Khan)  ;  they  do  their  writing  with  a  pencil 
such  as  painters  paint  with,  and  a  single  character  of  theirs  com- 
prehends several  letters  so  as  to  form  a  whole  word."  These  few 
lines  describe  with  effective  point  and  great  accuracy  the  leading 
characteristics  of  the  patient  and  laborious  inhabitants  of  China. 

But  though  these  faithful  emissaries  of  Pope  Innocent  saw 
much  to  interest  them  in  the  social  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Cathayans,  they  could  only  carry  back  with  them  a  depressing 
account  of  the  condition  of  Nestorian  Christianity  at  the  capital  of 
the  great  khan  (Mangu).  Rubruquis  states  that  when  he  first 
attempted  to  explain  the  object  of  his  mission  to  the  khan,  his 
address  was  considerably  "  marred  by  the  interpreter  becoming 
incoherent  from  frequent  draughts  of  wine  supplied  him  by  Mangu, 
who  himself  became  maudlin  before  the  friar  retired,  from  the  same 
cause."  The  effect  of  the  religious  services  was  much  interfered 
with  also  by  the  indulgence  of  this  infirmity.  On  high  days  and 
festivals  the  sacred  ceremonies  ended  in  drunken  orgies,  and  on 
one  occasion  the  empress,  who  had  a  leaning  for  Nestorian  Chris- 
tianity, "  was  carried  home  from  church  in  a  state  of  intoxication, 
escorted  by  priests  who  reeled  after  her,  shouting  out  their  chants 
and  hymns." 

Meanwhile  Mangu  was  still  waging  war  against  the  sovereign 
of  the  Sung  Dynasty,  and  the  enterprise  was  yet  incomplete  when 
he  died  in  1259,  leaving  the  still  growing  heritage  of  the  Mongols 
to  his  son,  the  Great  Kublai,  a  grandson  of  Jenghiz  Khan.  With 
indefatigable  energy  this  sovereign  took  in  hand  the  conquest  of 
China,  which  had  been  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  great  founder 
of  the  race,  and  it  was  while  the  fate  of  this  venture  was  still  in 
the  lap  of  the  gods  that  the  Venetian  traveler,  Marco  Polo,  presented 
himself  at  the  court  of  the  great  khan.  Already  the  father  and 
uncle  of  Marco  had  made  an  adventurous  journey  in  pursuit  of 
commerce  across  Asia  to  the  valley  of  the  Onon,  and  it  was  on 
the  occasion  of  their  second  visit  in  1271  that  they  took  the  youth- 


20 


CHINA 


1271 


ful  Marco  with  them.  "  When  the  two  brothers  and  Mark," 
writes  this  last  named,  "  had  arrived  at  that  great  city  (the  Mongol 
capital),  they  went  to  the  Imperial  Palace,  and  there  they  found 
the  sovereign  attended  by  a  great  company  of  barons.  So  they 
bent  the  knee  before  him,  and  paid  their  respects  to  him  with  all 
possible  reverence,  prostrating  themselves  on  the  ground.  Then 
the  lord  bade  them  stand  up,  and  treated  them  with  great  honor, 
showing  great  pleasure  at  their  coming,  and  asked  many  questions 


as  to  their  welfare  and  how  they  sped.  They  replied  that  they 
had  in  verity  sped  very  well  seeing  that  they  found  the  Khan  well 
and  safe.  They  then  presented  the  credentials  and  letters  which 
they  had  received  from  the  Pope,  which  pleased  him  right  well ; 
and  after  that  they  produced  the  oil  from  the  sepulcher,  and  at 
that  also  he  was  very  glad,  for  he  set  great  store  thereby.  And 
next  spying  Mark,  who  was  then  a  young  gallant,  he  asked  who 
was  that  in  their  company.  *  Sire,'  said  his  father,  Messer  Nicolo, 
*  'tis  my  son  and  your  liege  man.'  '  Welcome  is  he,  too,'  quoth 
the  Emperor There  was  great  rejoicing  at  the  Court 


I 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  21 

1271 

because  of  their  arrival;  and  they  met  with  attention  and  honor 
from  everybody." 

The  pomp  and  splendor  of  the  Oriental  court  struck  the  trav- 
elers with  amazement.  Never  before  had  they  dreamed  of  such 
imperial  splendor.  The  annual  feasts  and  national  commemora- 
tions were  celebrated  with  a  magnificence  that  surpassed  their 
wildest  imaginations,  while  the  evidences  of  civilization  which  they 
met  on  all  sides  led  them  to  make  comparisons  as  unfavorable  to 
Europe  as  changed  circumstances  lead  us  now  to  make  to  the 
disadvantage  of  China.  One  fact  which  especially  attracted  their 
attention  was  the  existence  of  banknotes  at  a  time  when  as  yet 
Europe  was  destined  to  wait  four  centuries  for  a  like  convenient 
currency.  A  Chinese  banknote  of  about  a  century  later  is  now 
exhibited  in  the  King's  Library  of  the  British  Museum,  which  is 
noticeable  from  the  fact  that  the  paper  on  which  it  is  printed  is 
almost  black.  The  explanation  of  this  color  is  given  by  Marco 
Polo:  "The  Emperor,"  he  tells  us,  "makes  them  (his  subjects) 
take  the  bark  of  a  certain  tree,  in  fact  of  the  mulberry  tree,  the 
leaves  of  which  are  the  food  of  the  silkworm — these  trees  being 
so  numerous  that  whole  districts  are  full  of  them.  What  they 
take  is  a  certain  fine  white  bast  or  skin  which  lies  between  the  wood 
of  the  tree  and  the  thick  outer  bark,  and  this  they  make  into  some- 
thing resembling  sheets  of  paper,  but  black."  The  khan  himself 
he  describes  as  being  of  a  good  stature,  neither  tall  nor  short,  and 
being  very  shapely  in  all  his  limbs.  If  this  were  so  the  Chinese 
artists  who  have  left  us  portraits  of  the  great  man  have  signally 
maligned  him.  According  to  them  he  was  stout  almost  to  obesity, 
and  far  from  possessing  the  shapely  form  described  by  the  Vene- 
tian, whose  evidence,  however,  we  should  be  inclined  to  accept 
rather  than  the  products  of  native  studios. 

Meanwhile  Kublai  was  actively  engaged  in  the  campaign 
against  the  reigning  sovereign  of  the  Sung  Dynasty,  and  it  is  even 
said  that  in  this  enterprise  he  received  useful  help  at  the  outset 
from  the  young  Marco.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  reconcile  this 
with  the  dates  assigned  to  Marco's  arrival  and  the  opening  of  the 
campaign;  but  however  that  may  be,  Kublai's  first  advance  was 
made  across  the  Yellow  River,  and  against  the  city  of  Hsiangyang, 
in  the  province  of  Hupeh.  It  is  remarkable  in  the  history  of  these 
wars  to  find  how  much  stouter  a  resistance  the  Chinese  oflfered  to 
the  invading  Mongols  than  the  inhabitants  of  western  Asia  and 


22  CHINA 

1271-1276 

eastern  Europe  were  able  to  present.  It  was  only  after  a  long 
siege  that  Hsiangyang  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mongols,  and  it 
required  more  than  one  arduous  campaign  to  subdue  the  cities  of 
Hanyang,  Hankow,  Wuchang,  Soochow,  and,  finally,  Hangchow, 
the  Sung  capital.  With  the  fall  of  the  capital  the  Sung  Dynasty 
practically  came  to  an  end,  though  with  fitful  efforts  the  followers 
of  the  ruling  house  attempted  to  stem  the  tide  of  invasion,  and 
by  1276  the  whole  of  China  acknowledged  the  sway  of  Kublai. 
At  this  time  the  Mongol  sovereign  ruled  over  an  empire  which 
was  one  of  the  largest  of  which  the  world's  history  has  knowledge, 
and  which  claimed  as  its  subjects  the  countless  hordes  occupying 
the  vast  territories  which  stretch  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  shores 
of  the  China  Ocean,  and  from  northern  Mongolia  to  the  frontiers 
of  Annam. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Kublai'slbampaigns  was 
the  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  his  forces  were  moved  over  vast 
stretches  of  territory.  Whether  the  enemy  to  be  assailed  were  the 
people  of  Persia  or  of  Cochin  China,  his  armies  straightway 
marched  against  the  foe,  and  with  surprising  speed  gained  striking 
distance.  Those  whose  fortune  it  has  been  to  travel  through 
western  China,  and  to  cross  the  many  mountain  ranges  over  which 
the  only  roads  are  narrow  pathways,  fitted  rather  for  goats  than 
for  human  beings,  will  well  understand  how  formidable  must,  for 
example,  have  been  the  undertaking  of  moving  an  army  from 
Peking  to  the  frontiers  of  Burma.  To  the  Mongols,  however,  it 
was  enough  to  know  that  the  work  had  to  be  done,  and  without 
loss  of  time  they  overcame  the  difficulties  of  transport,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  placing  an  army  in  the  field  on  the  plains  of  Yungchang. 
To  Kublai's  followers,  accustomed  to  the  warfare  of  northern  lati- 
tudes, the  Burmese  arms  and  equipments  presented  new  and  alarm- 
ing characteristics.  For  the  first  time  in  their  experiences  they 
were  called  upon  to  face  troops  of  elephants — animals  which  they 
could  never  have  seen  before.  Nothing  daunted,  the  general  in 
command  dismounted  his  men,  who  fired  such  a  storm  of  arrows 
into  the  huge  monsters  that  they  turned  and  rushed  through  the 
Burmese  ranks,  causing  disorder  and  panic  among  their  masters. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  thus  caused,  the  Mongols 
charged  home  into  the  forces  of  the  enemy,  and  gained  a  decisive 
victory.  Alarmed  at  the  swarming  numbers  and  overmastering 
power  of  the  invaders,  the  king  submitted  himself  to  Kublai,  and 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  23 

1266-1271 

was  allowed  to  return  to  his  capital  on  the  condition  that  he  and 
his  successors  should  pay  a  regular  tribute  to  the  court  of  China. 
Up  to  the  nineteenth  century,  when  Great  Britain  acquired  Burma, 
this  tribute  was  regularly  paid;  and  even  after  the  English  were 
in  possession  of  Mandalay  one  or  two  tribute-bearing  missions  were 
allowed  to  carry  homage  to  Peking. 

But  while  in  the  Burmese  and  other  land  campaigns  Kublai 
was  pniformly  successful,  he  was,  in  his  naval  warfare,  eminently 
unfortunate.  In  1266  he  sent  two  envoys  in  the  direction  of  Japan, 
who,  however,  returned  without  having  ventured  to  cross  the  inter- 
vening sea  from  the  coast  of  Korea.  The  object  of  this  mission 
was  doubtless  to  put  an  end  to  the  Japanese  piratical  raids  which 
had  long  been  occasioning  panic  and  disorder  on  the  coasts  of  China 
and  Korea ;  but,  finally,  having  failed  to  arrive  at  a  peaceful  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty,  Kublai  dispatched  a  fleet  against  the  Japanese 
which  suffered  a  fate  similar  to  that  which  overtook  the  Chinese 
ships  at  the  Yalu  during  the  late  war.  A  number  of  the  vessels 
were  captured,  a  number  were  destroyed,  and  only  a  remnant  re- 
turned to  carry  back  the  news  of  the  disaster.  Some  years  later 
Kublai  fitted  out  another  fleet  carrying  100,000  warriors  in  the  hope 
of  avenging  the  late  disgrace,  but  no  better  fortune  attended  this 
second  venture,  and  it  is  said  that  almost  the  whole  fleet  perished. 
Other  expeditions  against  the  islands  in  the  China  seas  proved 
equally  unsuccessful,  and  Kublai  was  compelled  to  recognize  the 
fact  that  while  invincible  on  land,  his  hardy  warriors  were  no 
match  afloat  for  the  seafaring  populations  of  the  islands.  It  is  not 
in  man  to  command  success,  and  Kublai,  the  victor  in  so  many  hard- 
fought  fields,  could  well  afford  to  submit  to  these  foreign  rebuffs 
on  a  strange  element.  In  matters  of  religion  Kublai  showed  the 
same  toleration  which  had  been  conspicuous  in  his  predecessors; 
with  equal  favor,  or  perhaps  one  may  say,  indifference,  he  showed 
an  impartially  friendly  disposition  toward  Christianity,  Buddhism, 
and  Mohammedanism.  He  listened  to  the  teachings  of  Christian 
fathers  with  the  same  attention  that  he  gave  to  Buddhist  priests 
and  Mohammedan  mullahs ;  if  ever  he  showed  special  favor  to  any 
one  form  of  faith  it  may  safely  be  assumed  that  it  was  with  the 
object  of  hunting  the  trail  of  policy  by  the  concession.  Thus  when 
wishing  to  secure  supremacy  over  the  wild  and  little  known  regions 
of  Tibet,  he  affected  a  strong  leaning  toward  Buddhism,  and 
gained  such  an  ascendency  by  so  doing  that  on  a  vacancy  occurring 


24  CHINA 

1271-1292 

in  the  pontifical  priesthood  he  was  invited  to  appoint  a  Grand  Lama 
to  superintend  the  destinies  of  the  country.  Having  thus  secured 
the  loyalty  of  the  chief  of  the  state  he  became  virtually  its  ruler, 
and  added  a  new  but  profitless  province  to  his  already  unwieldy 
empire. 

But  his  toleration  extended  beyond  religions,  and  embraced 
foreigners  of  all  nations  and  degrees;  the  favor  with  which  he 
regarded  young  Marco  Polo  on  his  first  arrival  at  the  Mongol  capital 
was  consistently  extended  to  him  during  the  whole  of  his  seven- 
teen years'  residence  in  China,  Recognizing  his  zeal  and  ability, 
he  appointed  him  to  office,  and  gave  him,  among  other  employ- 
ments, a  roving  commission  to  go  through  the  provinces  of  Shansi, 
Shensi,  Szech'uan,  and  Yunnan,  and  to  report  on  the  condition 
of  the  districts  through  which  he  passed.  So  well  did  the  Vene- 
tian acquit  himself  on  this  and  other  occasions  that  he  was  finally 
appointed  governor  of  the  city  of  Yangchow.  There  he  exercised 
rule  for  three  years,  and  might  have  remained  indefinitely  had  not 
a  wish  to  return  to  his  native  land  possessed  him  with  over- 
powering desire.  His  father  and  uncle,  who  were  still  in  the 
country,  were  also  anxious  to  return  to  Venice,  but  to  their 
repeated  requests  for  leave  of  absence  Kublai  had  invariably 
returned  a  negative,  and  it  was  by  the  merest  chance  that  they 
ultimately  succeeded  in  getting  away  from  the  country  of  their 
adoption.  It  happened  that  Arghun  Khan  of  Persia,  a  great- 
nephew  of  Kublai,  who  had  been  left  a  widower,  desired  to  wed, 
as  his  second  venture,  a  lady  of  the  Mongol  tribe,  of  which  his 
first  wife  had  been  a  member.  Kublai  sanctioned  the  arrangement, 
and  made  choice  of  a  young  lady  whom  he  considered  to  be  a  fit 
and  proper  person  to  fill  the  place  of  her  deceased  relative.  So 
far  matters  went  smoothly,  but  when  the  question  came  of  her 
journey  to  Persia,  which  was  to  be  made  by  sea,  Kublai  found  it 
more  difficult  to  provide  a  fitting  escort  than  it  had  been  to  find 
the  lady.  The  Mongol  officials,  unaccustomed  to  the  sea,  shrank 
from  the  undertaking,  and  as  a  last  resort  it  was  proposed  and 
agreed  to  that  Marco  with  his  father  and  uncle  should  have  charge 
of  the  would-be  bride.  In  1292  they  started  on  their  adventurous 
voyage,  in  the  course  of  which  they  met  with  not  a  few  perils. 
However,  at  length  they  reached  Persia  in  safety,  and  Marco  tells 
us  that  the  adieus  on  the  part  of  the  lady  were  more  sympathetic 
than  probably  her  future  husband  would  have  cared  to  witness. 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  25 

1295-1365 

The  lady,  we  are  told,  burst  into  tears,  and  bade  her  escort  fare- 
well with  many  lamentations.  So  long  had  been  the  voyage  that 
it  was  not  until  1295  that  the  governor  of  Yangchow.  with  his 
father  and  uncle,  appeared  once  more  on  the  Rialto. 

It  is  beyond  dispute  that  China  enjoyed  an  unusual  share  of 
prosperity  during  the  reign  of  Kublai.  With  the  same  wisdom 
that  he  showed  in  most  concerns,  he  exhibited  toward  the  people 
marked  consideration  and  justice.  He  adopted  their  institutions 
and  locked  favorably  on  their  prejudices  and  leanings;  he  was  a 
patron  of  their  national  literature;  and  used  every  effort  to  secure 
justice  in  the  administration  of  the  laws.  But  he  was  a  foreigner, 
and  his  dynasty  had  never  taken  that  hold  on  the  country  which 
might  make  people  forget  that  he  was  not  a  Chinaman.  Two  years 
after  Marco  Polo  had  left  the  great  khan  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers,  and  was  carried  to  his  tomb  without  any  expression  of 
regret  on  the  part  of  the  people  over  whom  he  had  reigned  for 
five  and  thirty  years.  His  grandson  Timur  succeeded  him  on  the 
throne,  but  the  ability  which  had  enabled  Kublai  to  raise  the 
empire  to  the  great  height  at  which  he  had  left  it  was  wanting 
in  his  successor.  Timur  died  in  1307,  and  after  him  followed  in 
rapid  succession  seven  sovereigns,  of  whom  little  can  be  said  that 
is  of  good  report,  except  possibly  of  the  second,  Jen  Tsung,  who 
was  an  ardent  follower  of  Confucius,  and  who  adopted  the  prin- 
ciple of  distributing  offices  more  equally  between  Mongols  and 
Chinese  than  had  hitherto  been  the  case. 

When  Kublai  Khan  rose  to  supreme  power,  the  Mongols, 
who  had  no  writing  of  their  own,  were  dependent  on  their  more 
cultured  neighbors  for  the  means  of  corresponding  on  paper.  An 
acquaintance  with  the  cultured  and  literary  people  of  China  had 
taught  the  great  conqueror  the  necessity  of  remedying  this  defect, 
and  with  the  object  of  doing  so,  he  appointed  a  scholar  of  the 
name  of  Bashpa  to  devise  an  alphabet  which  should  give  expres- 
sion to  the  thoughts  of  native  writers  in  a  national  script.  Bashpa 
executed  his  task,  and  Kublai  issued  an  edict  ordering  that  for 
the  future  all  official  documents  should  be  written  in  the  characters 
so  invented.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the  Mongols  entered  China 
than  the  new  alphabet  was  discarded.  As  has  been  said,  "  China 
is  a  sea  that  salts  all  the  waters  which  flow  into  it,"  and  the 
Mongols  having  left  their  dreary  steppes,  and  their  equally  dreary 
scraps  of  literature,  became  ardent  admirers  of  the  Chinese  scholar- 


26  CHINA 

1365-1370 

ship.  Under  the  influence  of  this  new  life  they  forgot  the  results 
of  Bashpa's  ingenuity,  and  adopted  the  learning  and  writing  of 
their  conquered  enemies.  One  branch  of  Chinese  literature  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  been  the  creation  of  the  Mongols;  before 
their  time  puppet  shows  and  dramatic  performances  had  been 
among  the  popular  amusements  of  the  Chinese  people.  The  pat- 
ronage which  was  extended  to  these  scenic  efforts  by  the  Mongols 
encouraged  the  production  of  more  regular  plays,  and  the  pro- 
fession of  playwright  became  in  consequence  a  popular  one  with 
such  authors  as  had  more  taste  for  holding  the  mirror  up  to  nature 
than  for  discussing  the  sterner  thoughts  of  the  philosophers.  The 
dramas  which  were  produced  during  the  Mongol  period  have  never 
been  surpassed  in  China,  and  the  "  Plays  of  the  Yuan  Dynasty  " 
are  still  regarded  as  standard  works  in  this  department  of  literature. 
During  the  last  reigns  of  the  Yuan  Dynasty  the  usual  pre- 
cursors of  revolution  became  prominent.  Rebellions  and  riots 
broke  out  on  all  sides,  and  during  the  reign  of  Shunti,  the  last  of 
the  Mongols,  the  disorders  came  to  a  head.  The  dynasty  had 
never  been  popular,  and  when  its  sovereigns  ceased  to  be  powerful, 
the  desire  for  the  return  to  the  throne  of  a  Chinese  line  became 
intensified  among  the  people.  At  the  head  of  one  of  the  risings 
in  the  south  was  one  who  was  destined  to  wear  the  robes  of  sov- 
ereignty. Chu  was  essentially  a  man  of  the  people,  and  his  family 
having  fallen  on  evil  times,  he  was  left  on  the  death  of  his  parents 
penniless  and  alone.  To  men  in  such  a  condition  the  cloister  often 
offers  a  shelter  from  the  storm.  At  all  events  this  was  Chu's 
anticipation  when  he  shaved  his  head  and  took  the  vows  of  a 
Buddhist  monk.  But  circumstances  were  too  strong  for  the 
recluse,  and  the  military  spirit  that  was  born  in  him  having  been 
awakened  by  a  rebellion  which  broke  out  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  monastery,  he  incontinently  cast  aside  his  cowl  and  took  the 
sword.  A  commanding  presence,  a  strong  will,  and  considerable 
ability  soon  forced  him  to  the  head  of  the  movement,  and  with 
such  skillful  tactics  did  he  maneuver  his  men  on  the  battlefield  that 
he  was  uniformly  successful  in  his  engagements  with  the  enemy. 
With  scarcely  a  check  he  marched  on  Nanking,  and  having  cap- 
tured that  most  important  city  after  a  short  siege,  he,  like  the 
T'aip'ing  Wang  of  a  half-century  ago,  constituted  it  his  capital. 
With  this  support  he  succeeded  in  driving  the  Mongols  out  of  the 
province  of  Kiangsi. 


r\    t. 


■mA 


/tUiR^CX  -v^n^' 


«?« 


1SW.137P 


their  - 
alniosr 
their 

fe 


nenis  oi  th^ 
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of  ni' 
me  in  c 


;re  may 


he  pat- 


vith 


or 
ar 


produced  durii' 


Ter 


HEROES  AND  HEROTNES  FROM  EARLY  CHINESE 

^  '^'  *^st  n       HISTORY  '^^^  Dynasty  the  usual  pre- 

\)  Upper  Left:-^TsJtiap-kuo-fu-jen,  the  heroic  female  leader  of  qe6r pi    '  \ 
jjj,  of  volunteers  at  the  end  of  the  6th  century  J.U.  ^         tv  h  f^ 

^^iLoiver  Left: — Wu  Tse-tien,  celebrated  Empress  {684-710)'       "  ^    .   . 
*]^ower  Righf.-rrYoFei,   national   hero   and  great   patriot    (iioj' 

i^iUpper  Right: — Hu  Ta-hai,  leader  of  the  advance  guard  of  Chu,  and 
^y^  true  friend  of  the  Ming  Dynasty    {end  of  the  14th  cen- 

ha  turyA.D.)  ,^^ 

..  ..^    L.iiU*S 

VOWS  of  a 

■"or   the 

;.g  been 

awakened  <  .,ot-»d  of 


ability  soc; 


.  and  witli 
•M  tliat 
■c  enemy, 
aving  cap- 
e,  like  the 
his  capital, 
out  of  the 


^itu.'iucc  t>i  K.a 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  27 

1370 

The  central  provinces  were  not  the  only  parts  of  the  empire 
where  the  fortunes  of  war  declared  against  the  Mongols  at  this 
time.  In  Korea,  and  in  the  western  parts  of  the  empire,  the 
rebellious  forces  claimed  to  have  gained  victories,  and  it  was  in 
the  midst  of  these  clouds  of  disasters  that  Shunti  was  gathered  to 
his  fathers  (1370).  Meanwhile  Chu  dispatched  three  armies  for 
the  conquest  of  the  still  unsubdued  districts.  Two  were  commis- 
sioned, to  subjugate  the  southern  provinces  of  Fuhkien,  Kwang- 
tung,  and  Kwangsi,  while  the  third,  consisting,  it  is  said,  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  was  ordered  to  overrun  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  country.  By  this  time  the  leaven  of  rebellion 
had  spread  far  and  wide,  and  Chu's  troops  found  little  difficulty 
in  executing  the  commissions  intrusted  to  them.  With  scarcely 
any  opposition  Peking  fell  before  the  rebel  forces,  and  as  a  fitting 
climax  to  that  victory,  Chu,  at  the  bidding  of  his  vast  hosts,  was 
induced  to  accept  the  imperial  purple.  He  was  well  aware,  how- 
ever, that  the  most  difficult  part  of  his  task  still  lay  before  him. 
At  the  head  of  an  enthusiastic  army,  and  in  face  of  a  disheartened 
foe,  it  had  been  comparatively  easy  for  him  to  overthrow  the  Mon- 
gol power.  He  now  had  to  justify  the  choice  of  the  people  in 
placing  him  on  the  throne,  and  in  this  trying  position  he  displayed 
as  far-seeing  a  judgment  as  that  which  had  already  secured  him 
temporary  success.  He  recognized  the  importance  of  fostering 
that  learning  of  which  the  nation  was  justly  proud,  and  one  of  his 
first  public  acts  were  directed  toward  reestablishing  throughout 
the  country  the  schools  which  had  fallen  into  decay  during  the 
troublous  time  which  had  marked  the  decadence  of  the  house 
of  Jenghiz  Khan. 

During  the  halcyon  period  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty  in  the  eighth 
century  an  Imperial  College,  known  as  the  Hanlin  or  "  Forest  of 
Pencils,"  had  been  established.  Admittance  to  this  palace  of  learn- 
ing had  always  been  regarded  as  the  highest  literary  honor  which 
could  be  obtained  by  the  most  erudite  scholars.  During  the 
many  dynastic  changes  which  had  taken  place  since  its  foundation 
its  existence  had  been  checkered  by  not  a  few  periods  of  mis- 
fortune, and  by  none  greater  than  that  which  had  lately  overtaken 
it.  Hungwu — for  such  was  the  imperial  title  adopted  by  Chu — 
determined  to  rehabilitate  the  institution.  He  rebuilt  its  shattered 
walls,  refurnished  its  empty  rooms,  and  showed  his  personal 
interest  in  the  work  by  actually  visiting  the  building  and  super- 


28  CHINA 

1370-1385 

intending  the  arrangements  for  its  revival.  It  was  fit  and  proper 
that  the  main  building  should  be  at  Peking,  but  Hungwu  could 
never  forget  that  Nanking  had  been  the  capital  of  his  choice,  and 
as  evidence  of  this  sentiment  he  built  and  endowed  a  sister  institu- 
tion at  that  city.  Since  the  advent  to  power  of  the  present  Manchu 
Dynasty  this  last  foundation  has  ceased  to  exist,  though  the  college 
at  Peking  still  maintains  its  high  reputation.  Like  everything 
else,  however,  in  the  northern  capital,  with  the  exception  perhaps 
of  parts  of  the  imperial  palace  and  of  the  foreign  legations,  the 
Hanlin  College  is  fast  hastening  to  decay.  Its  halls  are  deserted 
and  its  archives  and  library  are  covered  thick  with  dust.  It  may 
sound  paradoxical  to  say  that  a  building  in  such  a  deplorable  con- 
dition can  represent  an  institution  to  which  all  men  look  up.  But 
so  it  is.  The  highest  literary  honor  that  it  is  in  the  power  of 
his  emperor  to  confer  is  admittance  to  the  ranks  of  the  chosen  few 
who  boast  themselves  as  being  Hanlin  scholars,  though  it  is  proba- 
ble that  few  of  those  who  now  bear  that  title  have  ever  passed 
through  the  creaking  gates  of  the  Hanlin  College. 

Another  great  work  undertaken  by  Hungwu  was  the  codifica- 
tion of  the  laws  of  the  empire.  During  the  Mongol  dynasty  much 
laxity  had  been  observed  in  the  administration  of  justice.  The 
Mongol  rulers  were  men  of  action,  and  thought  more  of  the 
weapons  of  their  army  than  of  the  forms  of  the  legal  procedure. 
But  an  immense  benefit  was  conferred  on  the  nation  at  large  by 
this  peaceful  achievement  of  Hungwu.  History  further  tells  us 
that,  with  the  true  instincts  of  a  law-giver,  he  recognized  that 
something  more  than  forms,  however  excellent,  was  needed,  and 
devoted  much  time  and  energy  to  promoting  the  practical  adminis- 
tration of  justice  and  equity  in  the  local  courts.  There  was  un- 
questionably room  for  such  an  effort,  but  to  cleanse  so  foul  an 
Augean  stable  as  the  Chinese  law  courts  was  more  than  one  man, 
however  able  and  however  well  intentioned,  could  possibly  accom- 
plish, and,  unfortunately  for  the  nation,  the  officials  plowed  up  his 
good  seed  as  soon  as  it  was  sown.  More  beneficial  legislation  in 
this  direction  would,  however,  undoubtedly  have  been  effected  had 
it  not  been  that  the  Mongols,  taking  heart  of  grace  after  their 
defeat,  once  more  took  the  field  against  their  conqueror.  Even  in 
the  home  provinces  of  Shansi  and  Shensi  they  gained  such  vic- 
tories over  the  Ming  troops  as  put  a  considerable  strain  on  Hung- 
wu's  resources,   while  in  the  promontory  of   Liaotung  and  the 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  29 

1399-1401 

provinces  of  Szech'uan  and  Yunnan  they  completely  put  the  enemy 
to  rout.  To  meet  this  emergency  Hungvvu  dispatched  one  army 
against  Chungk'ing,  and  another  against  Ch'engtu  in  Szech'uan, 
and  having  pacified  those  districts  marched  across  the  border  into 
Yunnan;  and  ultimately  recovered  that  province  from  the  Mon- 
gol yoke.  In  the  midst  of  these  victories,  at  a  ripe  age  and  full 
of  honors,  Hungwu  became  a  "guest  on  high"  (1399),  leaving  a 
rich  inheritance  to  his  successor.  It  is  noteworthy  that  recently 
the  thoughts  of  a  large  section  of  the  Chinese  people  have  been 
led  back  to  this  period.  It  is  by  a  comparison  between  the  present 
state  of  the  empire,  and  the  condition  of  things  which  existed 
under  the  first  sovereign  of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  that  the  leaders  of 
the  Kolaohwei  have  been  able  to  enlist  so  many  recruits  to  their 
banners.  Hung,  the  first  syllable  of  the  sovereign's  name,  has 
now  been  taken  as  the  second  title  of  this  very  revolutionary 
society.  Time  will  show  what  is  the  extent  of  the  disaffection 
which  is  unquestionably  now  brewing,  and  how  far  the  existence  of 
foreigners  in  the  country  will  serve  as  a  check  to  any  serious  dis- 
turbance of  the  political  equilibrium.  Already  within  modern 
times  the  government  has  once  at  least  been  saved  from  its  own 
people  by  foreign  intervention,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  like  support 
may  again  be  required  to  bolster  up  the  central  authority  in  times 
of  future  trouble. 

Some  years  before  Hungwu's  death,  his  eldest  son  having 
already  succumbed  to  disease,  he,  by  his  last  testament  devised  his 
empire  and  throne  to  his  grandson,  who  afterward  adopted  the 
title  of  Chienwen.  In  Eastern  countries  where  primogeniture  is 
not  the  invariable  rule,  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  succession  gen- 
erally follows  an  imperial  demise.  In  this  case  each  of  the  younger 
sons  considered  that  he  had  a  better  claim  to  the  throne  than  his 
nephew,  and  to  avoid  the  outburst  of  any  unseemly  violence 
between  the  disputants  Hungwu  before  his  death  sent  the  mal- 
contents to  their  provincial  posts,  keeping  his  grandson  about  his 
person  at  court.  The  difficulty  of  the  position  was  eventually 
accentuated  by  the  obligation  which  Chienwen  felt  to  be  incumbent 
upon  him  of  inviting  his  uncles  to  take  part  in  the  imperial  obse- 
quies. With  the  exception  of  one,  the  Prince  of  Yen,  they  all 
with  one  consent  declined  to  be  present.  Nor  did  the  acceptance 
of  the  invitation  by  this  prince  by  any  means  imply  a  feeling  of 
loyalty  toward   his  nephew.     On   the   contrary,   on   leaving   the 


30  CHINA 

1402-1425 

imperial  presence  he  at  once  retired  to  Nanking  to  organize  his 
forces  of  opposition.  With  as  little  loss  of  time  as  possible  he 
took  the  field,  and  being  a  man  of  great  energy,  determination, 
and  courage,  he  gained  a  series  of  victories  over  his  kinsman,  which 
were  checkered  only  by  some  trifling  defeats.  At  length,  in  1402, 
his  troops  had  so  completely  gained  the  upper  hand  that  Chienwen 
determined  to  give  up  the  struggle  and  to  abdicate.  So  unusual 
a  step  led  to  the  report  that  he  had  committed  suicide,  but  possibly 
with  a  recollection  of  his  grandfather's  religious  propensities  he, 
instead,  shaved  his  head  and  sought  sanctuary  in  a  monastery  in 
Yunnan.  For  forty  years  he  remained  incognito  in  the  cloister, 
but  at  the  end  of  that  time,  perhaps  weary  of  the  monotony  of  his 
existence,  he  launched  out  into  poetry,  and  published  a  volume 
describing  his  former  trials  and  difficulties  with  sudi  minute 
details  that  the  authorship  stood  confessed.  The  fact  of  his  being 
an  emperor's  son,  or  possibly  the  fear  that  he  might  instigate  a 
rebellion,  induced  the  ruling  sovereign  to  order  him  to  Peking, 
where  he  was  kept  a  state  prisoner  within  the  precincts  of  the 
palace  until  death  put  an  end  to  his  troublous  existence.  Mean- 
while Yen  was  urged  by  his  followers  to  usurp  the  throne. 
Nothing  loath  he  accepted  the  crown,  and  for  two  and  twenty  years 
reigned  with  vigor  over  the  empire.  During  the  Mongol  period 
Peking  had  been  the  official  capital,  and  Yunglo,  as  Yen  had  styled 
himself,  determined  so  far  to  break  the  traditions  belonging  to  his 
house  as  once  again  to  transfer  the  seat  of  government  from  Nan- 
king to  Peking.  Further,  for  his  own  peace,  and  for  the  satis- 
faction of  his  followers  also,  he  considered  it  wise  that  he  should 
be  handed  down  to  posterity  as  the  direct  heir  of  Hungwu,  and 
he  therefore  issued  an  edict  commanding  Chienwen's  reign  should 
be  obliterated  from  the  annals,  and  that  the  four  years  during 
which  he  had  held  the  imperial  scepter  should  be  added  to  the  reign 
of  Hungwu. 

Under  his  able  administration  the  country  enjoyed  comparative 
peace,  and  he  had  time  to  turn  his  attention  from  the  "  Eighteen 
Provinces  "  to  the  difficulties  which  were  disturbing  the  political 
affairs  of  Tonquin.  Compared  with  his  predecessors'  reigns  his  rule 
was  in  the  happy  position  of  having  no  history  within  the  frontiers 
of  the  empire.  Beyond  the  northern  marches,  however,  war  with 
the  Tartars  was  chronic,  and  though  his  generals  gained  repeated 
victories  over  their  restless  adversaries,  the  system  of  warfare 


1425-1428 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES 


31 


which  these  practiced  made  it  impossible  for  the  Chinese  to  consoli- 
date their  triumphs.  It  is  always  difficult  to  destroy  a  guerrilla 
force  which  has  a  boundless  territory  to  which  to  retire.  That  he 
inflicted  serious  losses  on  them  is  well  established ;  and  it  was  when 
on  one  of  his  expeditions  against  these  nomad  marauders  that  his 
fatal  illness  overtook  him  in  1425.  Yunglo  was  more  than  a  mere 
soldier.  He  showed  a  wide  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  literature 
of  his  country,  and  caused  to  be  executed  one  literary  task  which 
alone  should  make  his  name  famous.     He  appointed  a  commission 


of  the  leading  scholars  of  the  time  to  compile  an  exhaustive  ency- 
clopedia on  all  subjects  commemorated  in  Chinese  literature.  After 
bestowing  the  labor  of  many  years  on  this  gigantic  compilation, 
in  1407  the  editors  presented  their  imperial  master  with  a  work 
consisting  of  no  fewer  than  22,877  books,  besides  the  table  of 
contents,  which  occupied  sixty  volumes. 

To  Yunglo  succeeded  several  sovereigns,  the  history  of  whose 
reigns  presents  a  dismal  picture  of  incompetence  and  anarchy.  The 
historians,  indeed,  delight  to  tell  us  that  envoys  from  Central 
Asia,  India,  and  Malacca  came  to  pay  homage  at  the  court  of  these 
Sons  of  Heaven.  But  these  glimpses  of  honor  are  set  off  in  a  back- 
ground of  open  disorder  and  successful  rebellion.    In  1428  Tonquin 


32  CHINA 

1457-1511 

threw  off  the  Chinese  yoke,  and  the  Tartars  raided,  almost  un- 
checked, over  the  northern  frontier  of  the  empire.  At  one  great 
battle  fought  against  these  Mongol  horsemen  a  hundred  thousand 
Chinese  are  said  to  have  been  killed,  and  the  victory  was  further 
emphasized  by  the  capture  of  the  Emperor  Chengt'ung  himself. 
It  is  evidence  of  the  abject  condition  to  which  the  empire  was 
brought  at  this  time,  that  though  the  Tartar  chieftain  offered  to 
release  his  imperial  prisoner  on  the  payment  of  a  hundred  taels  of 
gold,  two  hundred  taels  of  silver,  and  two  hundred  pieces  of  silk, 
the  Chinese  were  unable  to  provide  the  ransom.  Eight  years 
Chengt'ung  remained  in  captivity,  and  during  this  enforced  absence 
from  Peking  his  throne  was  vicariously  occupied  by  his  next  brother. 
In  1465  Chengt'ung  paid  the  great  debt  of  nature,  and  made  his 
death  humanely  memorable  by  an  order  that  the  barbarous  Mongol 
practice  of  immolating  slaves  at  the  tombs  of  sovereigns — a  practice 
which  had  been  adopted  by  the  earlier  Ming  rulers — should  not  be 
followed  in  his  case.  A  still  more  memorable  record  of  his  reign 
is  found  in  the  large  geographical  work  on  the  empire,  entitled 
"  Ta  Ming  yi  t'tmg  chih,"  or  "  A  Complete  Geographical  Record  of 
the  Empire  under  the  great  Ming  Dynasty."  The  example  thus 
set  has  fortunately  been  followed  by  the  rulers  of  the  present  line  of 
sovereigns,  under  whose  auspices  the  "Ta  Ch'ing  yi  fung  chih"  in 
five  hundred  books,  which  describes  in  minute  detail  the  geographi- 
cal and  political  condition  of  the  country,  has  been  issued  from  the 
press. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  Chengt'ung's  successor,  Ch'enghwa, 
that  the  canal  from  Peking  to  the  Peiho  was  made.  This  was  the 
only  public  work  for  which  there  was  either  time  or  inclination  in 
the  midst  of  the  brigandage  and  seditious  risings  which  disturbed 
the  empire,  more  especially  in  the  northern  and  western  provinces, 
with  such  constant  persistence  that  they  may  almost  be  said  to  have 
been  endemic. 

During  the  reign  of  Chengte,  from  1506  to  1522,  occurred  an 
event  which  led  up,  though  at  a  long  interval,  to  the  treaties  which 
now  govern- the  relations  of  China  with  the  outer  world.  In  15 11 
the  Portuguese,  Raphael  Perestralo,  arrived  off  the  southern  coast 
of  China,  and  six  years''later  Don  Fernao  Peres  D'Andrade  presented 
himself  at  Canton  in  command  of  a  small  squadron.  The  object 
of  these  pioneers  was  the  extension  of  commerce,  and  D'Andrade 
having  been  well  received  by  the  authorities  at  Canton,  proceeded 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  33 

1511-1542 

to  Peking,  where  he  remained  some  years,  acting  the  part  of  an 
amateur  ambassador.  For  some  time  his  relations  with  the  central 
authorities  were  amicable,  but  the  outrageous  action  of  his  compa- 
triots in  other  parts  of  the  empire  unhappily  brought  his  mission  to 
an  abrupt  and  unfortunate  close.  By  order  of  the  emperor  he  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned,  and  after  six  years  of  confinement  was 
summarily  beheaded  by  order  of  the  succeeding  ruler,  Chiaching. 
Such  a  reprisal  was  undoubtedly  a  high-handed  measure,  but  the 
Portuguese  traders  on  the  coast,  notably  at  Ningpo  and  Foochow, 
had  rapidly  filled  up  a  large  cup  of  iniquity.  They  had  been  guilty 
of  every  form  of  outrage,  and  at  Ningpo  had  proceeded  to  such 
excesses  that  on  the  occasion  of  a  difference  with  the  people  of  a 
neighboring  village  they  had  fallen  upon  and  massacred  their  op- 
ponents. When  estimating  the  conduct  of  an  Oriental  state  in  such 
circumstances,  it  is  only  fair  that  the  opposite  side  of  the  shield 
should  be  seen,  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  history  of  the 
early  Portuguese  settlements  in  China  is  stained  by  every  form 
of  iniquity. 

In  the  Chinese  histories  no  mention  is  made  of  D'Andrade's 
residence  in  Peking,  and  the  first  Portuguese  visit  on  the  coast  is 
put  down  to  the  year  1535.  At  this  time  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Foochow  a  general  massacre  of  the  Portuguese  took  place  in 
revenge  for  certain  nefarious  acts,  and  out  of  several  hundred 
thirty  only  escaped  to  tell  the  tale  to  their  countrymen  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Canton.  After  numerous  negotiations  and  much 
filibustering,  the  Canton  officials  allowed  the  Portuguese  to  settle 
on  the  peninsula  of  Macao  in  exchange  for  an  annual  rental.  To  say 
that  the  lives  of  these  men  were  precarious  would  certainly  not  be 
overstating  the  case.  They  were  constantly  engaged  in  conflicts 
with  the  forces  of  the  Chinese  Government,  as  well  as  with  the 
pirates  who  ravaged  the  coasts,  but,  though  they  carried  their  lives 
in  their  hands,  so  lucrative  was  the  trade  in  which  they  were  engaged 
that  as  many  as  five  or  six  hundred  Portuguese  were  commonly  to 
be  found  within  the  precincts  of  the  new  settlement. 

It  need  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  action  of  these 
pioneers  of  commerce  rendered  the  Chinese  disinclined  to  receive 
within  their  frontiers  any  foreigner  whom  they  could  conveniently 
keep  out,  and  when  the  missionary  Xavier,  burning  with  a  desire  to 
carry  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  to  the  people,  asked  for  leave  to 
be  allowed  to  deliver  this  message  of  good  will  to  all  men,  he  was 


34  CHINA 

1552-1566 

refused  permission  to  land.  Unwilling  to  give  up  the  enterprise,  he 
took  up  his  residence  on  the  island  of  Sanshan,  within  sight  of  the 
mainland,  and  there  died  in  1552  without  having  accomplished  the 
yearning  desire  of  his  heart.  The  same  inhospitality  was  offered  to 
Michel  Roger,  the  first  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who  attempted  to 
gain  a  footing  in  the  Middle  Kingdom.  The  great  Ricci,  who  arrived 
at  Macao  in  1582,  was  more  successful.  He  was  a  man  with  wide 
sympathies,  great  learning,  and  much  Christian  charity.  He  began 
his  work  in  China  by  studying  the  language,  together  with  the 
scientific  and  religious  beliefs  of  the  people,  and  he  thought  that  he 
saw  in  the  native  ideas  on  the  subject  of  the  Supreme  Being  and 
the  whole  duty  of  man,  a  likeness,  though  deformed  by  superstition, 
but  still  a  likeness,  to  the  truths  set  forth  in  the  gospel.  He  seized 
on  all  those  passages  in  the  Confucian  literature  which  agree  with 
the  utterances  of  the  inspired  writers,  and  following  the  example  of 
Saint  Paul  at  Athens,  he  told  his  hearers  that  the  God  whom  they 
ignorantly  worshiped  was  the  God  whom  he  was  sent  to  preach  to 
them.  The  open-mindedness  which  thus  characterized  his  senti- 
ments gained  for  him  consideration  and  respect  among  all  classes 
alike,  from  the  ignorant  coolies  to  the  educated  mandarins.  With 
such  a  reputation  he  was  received  with  favor  at  Peking — a  favor 
which  was  not  diminished  by  his  very  practical  knowledge  of  me- 
chanics, which  enabled  him  even  to  set  to  rights  the  emperor's 
clocks  and  watches  which,  under  the  unwonted  treatment  to  which 
they  were  subjected  by  the  palace  officials,  had  gone  hopelessly 
wrong.  Intent  on  interesting  and  at  the  same  time  instructing  the 
mandarins,  he  utilized  his  knowledge  of  the  language  to  translate 
the  first  six  books  of  Euclid  into  Chinese.  At  a  later  period  he 
published  in  Chinese  a  geometrical  treatise  on  the  theory  of  astro- 
nomical measurement ;  and  not  to  leave  the  religious  feelings  of  the 
people  untouched,  he  brought  out  a  work  on  the  character  and 
attributes  of  God.  The  scholarly  style  of  these  works  commended 
them  even  to  the  punctilious  taste  of  the  Literati,  and  their  author 
enjoyed  during  his  residence  in  Peking  the  respect  and  friendship 
of  the  court  and  of  the  highest  officials  of  the  empire.  In  16 10 
Ricci  died,  deeply  regretted  by  all  with  whom  he  had  been  brought 
into  contact. 

The  reign  of  Chiaching  (1522-1567),  which  had  been  disturbed 
from  its  beginning  by  domestic  outbreaks,  was  destined  before 
its  close  to  be  imperiled  by  the  same  enemy  which  has  of  late 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  S5 

1552-1566 

humbled  Chinese  pride  to  the  dust.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Kublai  Khan  made  several  expeditions  against  Japan,  and  though 
uniformly  unsuccessful,  these  onslaughts  none  the  less  left  a  rankling 
feeling  of  ill-will  in  the  minds  of  the  Japanese.  As  the  Mongol 
power  declined  the  Japanese  sought  revenge  for  the  injuries  inflicted 
on  them,  by  piratical  raids  on  the  coast.  Boulger,  in  his  "  Histoiy 
of  China,"  quotes  a  passage  from  a  Chinese  historian,  who  describes 
the  Japanese  of  this  period  as  being  "  intrepid,  inured  to  fatigue, 
despising  life,  and  knowing  well  how  to  face  death;  although 
inferior  in  number,  a  hundred  of  them  would  blush  to  flee  before  a 
thousand  foreigners,  and,  if  they  did,  they  would  not  dare  to  return 
to  their  country.  Sentiments  such  as  these,  which  are  instilled  into 
them  from  their  earliest  childhood,  render  them  terrible  in  battle." 
This  description  is  as  true  to-day  as  it  was  then,  and  their  prowess 
was  exhibited  as  conspicuously  off  the  coasts  of  Fuhkien  and  Cheh- 
kiang  in  the  sixteenth  century  as  at  the  battles  of  Pingyang  and 
Yalu. 

These  lawless  attacks  on  the  Chinese  coast  were  diversified 
with  intervals  of  quiet,  during  which  Japanese  merchants  reaped  a 
rich  harvest  from  the  Chinese  traders.  But  in  1552  a  more  serious 
campaign  was  undertaken,  and  a  landing  having  been  effected  on 
the  coast  of  Chehkiang,  the  invaders  established  themselves  in  a 
fortified  post,  and  for  a  time  defended  their  position  against  all 
comers.  Some  years  later  they  even  advanced  and  laid  siege  to 
Nanking,  and  though  this  attempt  at  conquest  failed,  the  repeated 
onslaughts  of  the  invaders  paralyzed  the  imperial  power,  and 
kept  the  eastern  provinces  in  a  chronic  state  of  disorder.  In  every 
naval  engagement  the  Japanese  were  successful,  and  on  land,  though 
vastly  outnumbered,  they  were  never  hopelessly  defeated. 

From  time  immemorial  the  pursuit  of  the  philosopher's  stone 
and  of  the  elixir  of  life  has  been  a  favorite  occupation  with  Chinese 
alchemists,  and  though  refuted  over  and  over  again  by  the  cold  hand 
of  death,  it  has  never  lost  a  certain  fascination  for  the  ignorant 
seekers  after  the  unknown.  It  is  strange  to  find  that  Chiaching, 
whose  occupation  of  the  throne  had  been  one  long  troublous  strug- 
gle, should  have  desired  to  perpetuate  an  existence  which  can  have 
afforded  him  so  very  little  pleasure.  But  so  it  was,  and  with 
ceaseless  diligence  he  sought  to  snatch  from  the  professors  of 
Taoism  the  secret  which  was  to  make  him  immortal.  As  the  ap- 
proach of  death  proved  indisputably  the  folly  of  his  ways,  he 


36  CHINA 

1566-1592 

owned  his  error,  and  on  his  death-bed  wrote  a  confession  in  these 
words :  "  Forty-five  years  have  I  occupied  the  throne,  and  there 
have  been  few  reigns  as  long.  My  duty  was  to  revere  heaven,  and 
to  take  care  of  my  people ;  yet,  actuated  by  the  desire  to  find  some 
solace  for  the  evils  from  which  I  have  continually  suffered,  I 
allowed  myself  to  be  deceived  by  impostors,  who  promised  me  the 
secret  of  immortality.  This  delusion  has  led  me  to  set  a  bad 
example  to  both  my  magnates  and  my  people.  I  desire  to  repair  the 
evil  by  this  edict,  which  is  to  be  published  throughout  the  empire 
after  my  death."  In  1566  he  passed  into  the  land  of  shades,  and 
his  son  Lungch'ing  reigned  in  his  stead. 

The  only  event  of  importance  which  occurred  in  this  reign 
was  the  submission  of  the  turbulent  Mongol  leader  Yenta,  who  had 
long  defied  the  Chinese  power.  Yenta  was  now  an  old  man,  and 
wishing  to  end  his  days  in  peace  he  entered  into  negotiation  with 
Lungch'ing,  who,  after  the  manner  of  Eastern  sovereigns  when 
dealing  with  submissive  rebels,  granted  him  the  title  of  prince,  and 
so  set  at  rest  a  feud  which  had  been  of  time-honored  existence.  But 
though  Lungch'ing's  reign  had  ended  in  peace  and  quiet,  the  general 
trend  of  the  nation's  history  was  downward,  and  it  was  unfortunate 
that  at  this  time,  when  a  strong  hand  was  needed  at  the  helm,  a 
child  should  have  succeeded  to  the  throne.  As  is  usual  in  such  cases 
the  young  emperor's  mother  was  proclaimed  regent,  and  though 
for  a  time  the  legacy  of  peace  which  had  descended  to  the  empire 
remained  intact,  it  was  not  long  before  disturbances  again  broke 
out.  In  Szech'uan  and  on  the  northwest  frontier  rebellions  of  con- 
siderable dimensions  afflicted  the  empire.  The  important  town 
of  Ninghsia  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Tartars,  led  by  the  chieftain 
Popai,  who  added  ingratitude  to  the  crime  of  rebellion  by  leading 
his  forces  against  the  Chinese  army  in  which  he  had  at  one  time  held 
high  rank.  Fortunately  the  imperialists  were  able  to  recover  the 
city,  and  at  the  same  time  to  crush  the  rebellion. 

But  while  thus  successful  in  the  northwest,  the  same  foe 
appeared  on  the  eastern  coast  who  had  lately  proved  to  be  a  for- 
midable antagonist  to  the  Chinese.  Many  years  of  peace  and  of 
successful  raiding  on  the  Chinese  mainland  had  introduced  an  era 
of  prosperity  into  Japan,  and  the  people  having  waxed  fat  began 
to  kick.  They  had  long  been  associated  with  Korean  politics  and 
rivalries,  and  seizing  on  their  opportunity  in  1592,  when  Korea, 
as  has  not  been  uncommonly  the  case  in  her  history,  was  distracted 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  37 

1592-1600 

by  internal  feuds,  they  landed  a  force  at  the  port  of  Fusan  under 
the  command  of  the  celebrated  general  and  subsequent  Shogun, 
Hideyoshi.  Without  meeting  with  much  opposition  Hideyoshi  ad- 
vanced across  the  peninsula  and  made  himself  master  of  the  capital, 
Seoul.  As  the  Chinese,  even  up  to  our  own  times,  have  acted  as  the 
suzerain  power  in  Korea,  in  this  emergency  the  king,  as  in  duty 
and  interest  bound,  appealed  to  the  Chinese  emperor  for  assistance. 
The  appeal  was  at  once  acknowledged,  and  a  large  Chinese  force 
marched  into  Korea  by  way  of  the  Yalu  district.  In  anticipation 
of  this  movement  the  Japanese  advanced  northward  to  meet  the 
attack,  and,  as  in  1894,  took  up  their  position  in  Pingyang,  where 
they  were  received  without  opposition  by  the  inhabitants.  The 
Chinese  attack  was  delivered  in  force,  but  Hideyoshi  commanded 
and  disposed  his  men  so  ably  that  they  had  little  difficulty  in  beat- 
ing off  their  assailants. 

The  efforts  which  had  been  made  for  the  campaign  by  both 
nations  had,  however,  so  far  weakened  their  resources  that  neither 
was  much  inclined  to  continue  the  struggle  at  once.  The  Chinese, 
therefore,  waited  for  reinforcements,  and  the  Japanese  slowly  re- 
tired on  their  base  at  Fusan,  Desultory  engagements  ensued,  and 
the  Chinese  gained  one  decided  victory  near  Pingyang,  where  they 
succeeded  in  burning  a  dtpot  of  warlike  stores  on  which  Hideyoshi 
had  depended  for  the  army.  Negotiations  for  peace  followed,  and 
it  is  noticeable  that  the  Chinese  adopted  precisely  the  same  tactics 
as  those  which  they  practiced  in  1895.  They  sent  ambassadors 
of  inferior  rank  to  represent  the  emperor,  and  by  this  course  so 
outraged  the  feelings  of  Hideyoshi,  who  in  the  meantime  had 
become  Shogun,  that  he  prepared  a  fresh  expedition  for  the  re- 
newed conquest  of  the  country.  Before,  however,  anything  could 
be  effected,  the  news  reached  Fusan  of  his  death.  This  catas- 
trophe put  an  end  to  the  war,  and  peace  was  once  more  restored 
between  the  two  countries.  Of  the  spoils  carried  off  by  the  Chinese 
we  hear  nothing,  but  the  Japanese  returned  to  their  islands  laden 
with  trophies,  among  which  were  the  ears  of  ten  thousand  Koreans 
who  had  been  butchered  in  the  frays. 

It  was  during  this  reign  that  the  Spaniards  reached  the  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  where  they  found  a  congenial  climate  and  a  fertile 
soil.  They,  however,  were  not  the  only  people  who  recognized 
these  advantages.  They  had  no  sooner  settled  themselves  on  the 
islands  than  Chinese  emigrants  followed  their  example,  and  in  the 


88  CHINA 

1600-1644 

quiet  persistent  way  common  to  the  race,  poured  into  the  country. 
At  first  the  Spaniards  were  well  pleased  to  have  such  willing  and 
handy  craftsmen,  but  as  the  number  of  them  increased  by  leaps 
and  bounds  they  soon  began  to  fear  for  their  dominion.  Threats 
and  persuasions  were  freely  used  to  induce  the  intruders  to  return 
to  their  native  land,  and  these  proving  unavailing,  an  order  was 
given  for  the  massacre  of  the  strangers.  Twenty  thousand  China- 
men are  said  to  have  been  slaughtered  at  this  time,  and  had  these 
been  subjects  of  any  other  state  than  China  a  war  would  have  been 
inevitable.  But  until  recent  years,  when  international  law  has  been 
made  a  subject  of  study  at  Peking,  the  Chinese  Government  has 
troubled  itself  very  little,  if  at  all,  about  the  welfare  of  its  subjects 
in  foreign  lands.  In  this  case,  however,  a  more  immediately  direct 
reason  caused  the  Emperor  Wanli  to  overlook  the  outrage.  Dis- 
turbances had  broken  out  within  the  empire  which,  to  hold  in  check, 
required  the  services  of  every  available  man  at  his  command.  To 
subdue  these  completely  was  plainly  beyond  his  power,  and  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  in  1620,  wars  and  rumors  of  wars  were  endemic 
in  the  country. 

Meanwhile,  under  the  skillful  guidance  of  Ricci,  Christianity 
had  made  considerable  progress,  even  amid  the  disorders  which 
had  disturbed  the  reign  of  Wanli.  Hsu,  one  of  the  Literati,  and  a 
man  of  high  scholarly  attainments  and  standing,  having  been  con- 
verted by  Ricci's  influence,  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  the 
missionary  work.  It  was  mainly  due  to  the  help  of  this  man  that 
Ricci  was  able  to  publish  the  scholarly  treatises  which  have  made 
his  name  immortal  in  connection  with  Chinese  missions,  and  Hsii's 
granddaughter,  baptized  under  the  name  of  Candida,  ably  seconded 
his  influence  with  money  and  energy.  Thirty  churches  are  said 
to  have  been  built  by, her  means,  besides  ninety  buildings  for  the 
use  of  the  missionaries.  Unfortunately  for  the  peace  of  the  empire, 
Wanli  left  no  son  by  his  empress  to  succeed  him,  and  at  his  death 
he  was  compelled,  therefore,  to  nominate  as  his  heir  the  eldest  son 
of  one  of  his  concubines.  A  younger  brother  of  this  fortunate 
youth,  being  a  favorite  with  his  father,  had  been  led  to  expect  that 
in  default  of  a  son  by  the  empress  he  would  have  been  chosen 
as  successor  to  the  purple.  In  his  anger  at  what  he  considered 
to  be  his  supersession,  he  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and  embit- 
tered the  last  few  months  of  his  father's  life  by  creating  a  conflict 
within  his  own  household.    Three  emperors  in  succession  to  Wanli 


YUAN     AND     MING    DYNASTIES  39 

1644-1666 

completed  the  list  of  Ming  rulers,  and  in  1644  the  first  sovereign 
of  the  present  Ta  Ch'ing  Dynasty  ascended  the  throne. 

Though  it  cannot  be  said  that  science  and  art  flourished  under 
the  Ming  rulers,  yet  the  artistic  taste  at  least  of  the  people  was  not 
entirely  neglected.  Numerous  artists  painted  landscapes,  flowers, 
and  birds  with  all  the  skill  that  had  guided  the  pencils  of  the 
artists  of  the  T'ang  and  Sung  Dynasties,  and  to  them  the  Japanese 
owe  jind  acknowledge  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  examples 
which  they  set  to  the  contemporary  painters  of  Miako  and  Osaka. 
The  works  of  no  artists  are  more  admired  in  Japan  than  those  of 
Sesshiu  and  Kano,  both  of  whom  drew  their  inspirations  direct 
from  China  during  this  period.  The  landscapes  of  Ma  Yuan  and 
the  flowers  and  birds  of  Ting  Yiich'uan  are  artistic  creations  which 
must  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  command  admiration,  and  these 
are  but  two  of  a  host  of  painters  who  delighted  and  still  delight 
all  connoisseurs  of  art.  The  wood-engraving  of  this  period  is 
famous  for  beauty  of  design  and  skillful  treatment,  and  is  eagerly 
sought  after  for  the  adornment  of  houses  by  those  to  whom  the 
god  of  wealth  has  been  propitious. 

In  several  important  points  scientific  teaching  improved  con- 
siderably during  the  same  period  owing  to  the  arrival  of  Western 
missionaries  in  the  country.  Ricci,  as  we  have  seen,  instructed 
the  Literati  in  geometrical  and  astronomical  knowledge,  which  hap- 
pily was  not  allowed  to  perish  with  him.  In  1628  John  Adam  Schall 
arrived  in  China,  and  proceeded  to  Peking,  where,  under  imperial 
patronage,  he  was  appointed  astronomer-royal,  and  was  deputed 
to  rearrange  the  imperial  calendar.  Under  the  last  three  emperors 
of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  and  the  first  two  of  the  present  dynasty, 
Schall  was  treated  with  all  the  respect  and  honor  to  which  he 
was  entitled.  But  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  K'anghsi  he 
fell  on  evil  days.  Jealousy  was  aroused  against  him,  and  on  a 
charge  of  law-breaking  brought  by  his  enemies,  he  was  thrown 
into  prison  and  loaded  with  chains.  From  this  evil  strait  he  was 
liberated  by  death  in  about  1666.  During  the  years  of  his  as- 
cendency he  had  worked  with  single-hearted  zeal  in  the  cause  of  the 
faith,  and  it  is  said  that  between  the  years  1660  and  1664  a  hundred 
thousand  converts  were  claimed  by  the  church  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  Schall  and  his  coworkers.  At  one  time  the 
Emperor  K'anghsi  showed  a  disposition  which  tended  toward 
conversion.    But  this  wished-for  consummation  was  never  achieved. 


40  CHINA 

1644-1666 

though  the  emperor's  mother,  wife,  and  son  all  received  baptism, 
which  rite  was  also  sought  and  received  by  fifty  ladies  of  the 
court. 

As  men  of  science  the  missionaries  received  every  consider- 
ation from  the  emperor,  and  though  they  were  disposed  at  times 
to  consider  that  his  attitude  toward  Christianity  was  satisfactory, 
it  is  plain  that  in  his  heart  of  hearts  he  viewed  the  subject  with 
all  the  perfect  indifference  of  a  faithful  follower  of  Confucius. 

"  Why  do  you  so  much  trouble  yourselves,"  he  asked  on  one 
occasion  of  a  spiritual  adviser,  "  about  a  world  which  you  have 
never  yet  entered  ?  "  and  adopting  the,  to  him,  canonical  view,  he 
expressed  his  opinion  that  it  would  be  much  wiser  if  they  thought 
less  of  the  world  to  come  and  more  of  the  present  life.  It  is  possible 
that  when  he  said  this  he  may  have  had  in  his  mind  the  dying  word 
of  Ferdinand  de  Capillas,  who  suffered  martyrdom  in  1648.  "I 
have  had  no  home  but  the  world,"  said  this  priest,  as  he  faced 
his  last  earthly  judge,  "  no  bed  but  the  ground,  no  food  but  what 
Providence  sent  me  from  day  to  day,  and  no  other  object  than  to  do 
and  suffer  for  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  the  eternal  happi- 
ness of  those  who  believe  in  His  Name." 

It  is  possible  also  that  the  dissensions  which  broke  out  among 
the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  China  during  the  last  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  cynical 
attitude  adopted  by  K'anghsi  toward  them.  In  165 1  a  party  of 
Dominicans  arrived  in  China  to  supplement  the  work  being  done 
by  the  Jesuits.  These  latest  arrivals  had  no  sooner  landed  than 
they  became  shocked  at  the  latitude  allowed  by  the  Jesuits  in  mat- 
ters of  religious  forms. 

The  Jesuits,  in  their  desire  to  gain  intellectual  dominion  over 
the  people,  were  said  to  have  granted  admission  into  their  services 
of  practices  which  savored  somewhat  of  the  superstitious  rites  of 
the  natives.  The  ancient  and  respectable  worship  of  ancestors 
received  their  acquiescence  on  the  plea  that  it  was  rather  a  civil  than 
a  religious  service.  They  had  adopted  also  the  abstract  term  T'ien, 
or  Heaven,  for  the  Christian  God,  and  made  no  objection  to  the 
exhibition  in  their  churches  of  scrolls  bearing  the  inscription, 
"Worship  Heaven."  The  Dominicans,  fresh  from  Rome,  and 
unaccustomed  to  the  politic  tact  which  by  long  practice  had  become 
part  of  the  Jesuit  character,  at  once  set  their  faces  against  these 
practices.     The  Jesuits,  firm  in  the  inherited  wisdom  of  Ricci, 


1^ 


YUAN     AND     MING     DYNASTIES  41 

1644-1666 

refused  to  listen  to  what  they  considered  to  be  the  carping  criti- 
cism of  their  opponents,  and  dech'ned  to  make  any  alterations  in 
their  practices.  The  Dominicans  appealed  to  Rome,  and  after 
much  doubt  and  controversy,  a  Papal  decree  was  issued  proclaim- 
ing the  worship  of  ancestors  to  be  a  heathenish  practice,  and  one 
which  was  not  to  be  for  a  moment  sanctioned  by  the  Holy  Mother 
Church. 


Chapter  III 

THE    RISE    OF   THE    MANCHUS.     1644-1722 

WHILE  yet  the  influence  of  Ricci  was  supreme  at  Peking, 
and  while  yet  Wanli  sat  on  the  throne,  the  Manchu 
power  was  rising  in  the  northeast,  which  was  destined 
ultimately  to  bring  all  China  under  its  yoke.  After  the  defeat  of 
the  Kin  Tartars  by  the  Mongols  in  the  thirteenth  century,  scattered 
bands  had  made  their  way  back  to  their  original  haunts  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Moukden.  Many  of  these  men  had  added  military 
skill  to  their  warlike  natures  and  thus  formed  a  formidable  though 
small  body  of  warriors  in  the  midst  of  the  various  tribes  of  Manchus 
who  inhabited  the  surrounding  territories.  Among  these  wander- 
ing and  superstitious  people  a  miracle  was  proclaimed.  While  a 
Manchu  maiden  was  seated  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  whose  waters 
lap  the  sides  of  the  Long  White  Mountain,  a  magpie  dropped  a  red 
fruit  into  her  lap.  The  maiden  ate  the  fruit  and  straightway 
conceived  a  son,  whose  name  was  called  Aisin  Gioro,  the  Golden. 
Such  a  birth  entitled  the  infant  to  the  highest  honors,  and  with 
one  consent  he  was  elected  to  the  chieftainship  of  the  clan.  To  this 
chieftain  succeeded  in  course  of  time  his  son,  whose  grandson, 
Nurhachu,  born  in  1559,  was  destined  to  justify  his  miraculous 
origin  by  vanquishing  for  himself  and  his  successors  the  ancient 
Empire  of  China. 

As  Nurhachu  reached  manhood  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
affairs  of  his  tribe,  and  by  virtue  of  his  descent  was,  in  the  natural 
order  of  things,  proclaimed  chieftain  of  it.  His  appearance  is  said 
to  have  indicated  the  future  that  lay  before  him.  Native  writers 
love  to  dwell  on  his  dragon  face  and  phcenix  eyes,  his  enormous 
chest,  his  large  ears,  and  his  deep-toned  voice.  These  features, 
by  common  belief,  belong  to  leaders  of  men,  and  if  they  graced  the 
frame  of  Nurhachu  they  were  certainly  truer  omens  than  are  most 
signs  and  forecasts.  At  this  time  the  Manchus  were  divided  up 
into  numberless  small  clans  which  were  scattered  in  the  wide  district 
which  divides  the  great  wall  from  the  Amur,  and  the  first  task  to 
which  Nurhachu  devoted  himself  was  to  weld  these  scattered  tribes 

4S 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  43 

1591*1618 

into  one  confederacy.  Good  fortune  attended  his  efforts,  and  the 
extent  of  his  success  may  be  estimated  by  the  jealousy  with  which 
he  was  viewed  by  rival  chieftains.  At  first  the  Chinese,  who  con- 
sidered themselves  the  lords  paramount  over  the  Manchurian  tribes, 
regarded  the  movement  as  being  too  insignificant  to  require  their 
attention.  Besides,  at  this  time  local  riots  and  somewhat  serious 
rebellions  were  disturbing  the  peace  of  several  of  the  provinces  of 
the  empire.  At  length  Wanli,  who  still  sat  on  the  throne  at  Peking, 
was  roused  to  action  by  such  complaints  as  the  defeated  are  always 
ready  to  bring  against  a  successful  foe,  and  he  took  up  the  cause  of 
a  certain  Nikan,  who  was  of  all  others  Nurhachu's  chief  opponent. 
Like  other  people,  the  Chinese  often  make  the  mistake  of  despising 
their  enemies,  and  in  the  campaign  which  followed  they  suffered 
the  penalty  of  their  misguided  folly.  In  1591  Nurhachu  had  so  far 
advanced  his  cause  as  to  be  able  to  annex  the  Yalu  district.  Such 
an  obvious  proof  of  his  success  was  gall  and  wormwood  to  those 
neighboring  chieftains  who  had  held  aloof  from  his  confederacy, 
and  seven  of  these  discontented  rulers  banded  themselves  together 
to  rob  him  of  the  legitimate  rewards  of  his  wisdom  and  foresight. 
At  the  head  of  thirty  thousand  men  they  marched  out  to  meet 
the  four  thousand  who  fought  under  his  banners.  But  Nurhachu, 
who  had  all  the  military  ability  of  a  Napoleon,  defeated  the  allies 
in  detail  and  slew  four  thousand  of  their  chosen  warriors.  This 
success  tempted  him  to  further  ventures,  and  as  a  preliminary  step 
he  opened  his  plan  of  campaign  by  an  assault  on  the  Liaotung 
peninsula.  This  was  a  direct  attack  on  the  Empire  of  China,  and 
to  justify  so  extreme  a  measure  he  drew  up  a  statement  of  the 
seven  grievances  which  he  brought  against  his  powerful  neighbor, 
the  first  of  which  described  in  general  terms  the  grounds  of  his 
several  indictments.  "  Though  my  ancestors,"  he  wrote,  "  never 
took  a  straw  from,  nor  injured  an  inch  of  earth  within,  the  Chinese 
boundary,  the  Chinese  were  unceasingly  quarreling  with  them,  and 
without  just  reason  abetted  my  neighbors  to  the  great  injury  of  my 
ancestors." 

The  other  six  complaints  described  in  detail  the  specific  acts  of 
which  he  complained.  In  the  following  year,  16 18,  he  opened  the 
campaign  by  crossing  the  Chinese  frontier  and  capturing  the  cities 
of  Fushun  and  Chingho. 

The  Chinese  were  now  fully  alarmed ;  but  as  has  so  often 
happened  in  the  history  of  the  empire,  they  had  so  overlooked 


44  CHINA 

1618-1621 

the  beginning  of  the  evil  that  by  the  time  they  took  the  field  they 
found  themselves  face  to  face  with  a  large  and  well-equipped  army, 
instead  of  the  roving  bands  of  banditti  which  had  represented  the 
original  force  of  the  movement.  The  saying  that  Providence  is  on 
the  side  of  large  battalions  is  one  of  those  aphorisms  which  does  not 
apply  to  Chinese  battlefields.  We  have  lately  seen  how,  though 
numerically  inferior,  the  Japanese  defeated,  put  to  flight,  and  de- 
stroyed the  huge  masses  of  troops  which  the  Chinese  were  able  to 
bring  against  them  in  Korea  and  in  those  districts  over  which 
Nurhachu  maneuvered.  In  this  earlier  instance  100,000  Chinese 
troops  marched  against  the  60,000  of  the  Niuchi  chieftain,  and 
if  in  executing  his  tactics  the  general  commanding  had  desired 
to  place  himself  and  his  men  in  the  hollow  of  his  adversary's 
hand,  he  could  not  have  acted  better  than  he  did.  With  fatal 
consequences  he  divided  his  army  into  three  forces,  and  thus  gave 
Nurhachu  the  opportunity  which  he  desired.  With  unerring 
instinct  he  recognized  his  opponent's  mistake,  and  by  a  series  of 
rapid  movements  he  fought  the  three  armies  in  detail,  and  prac- 
tically annihilated  them.  It  is  said  that  in  these  engagements  310 
general  officers  and  45,000  soldiers  were  slain.  The  baggage  of 
the  vanquished  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Manchus,  who  thus 
became  possessed  of  welcome  stores  with  which  to  replenish  and 
supplement  the  very  defective  supplies  of  their  men. 

It  so  happened  that  just  when  the  news  of  the  first  reverses 
reached  Peking  the  Portuguese  envoy,  Gonsalvo  de  Texeira, 
arrived  at  the  capital  on  a  mission  connected  with  the  settlement 
at  Macao.  Finding  the  government  in  dire  straits,  the  envoy, 
on  the  principle  of  Do  ut  des,  offered  to  supply  a  Portuguese  con- 
tingent to  help  the  imperial  forces  against  the  invader.  Chinese 
pride  has  never  been  able  to  resist  the  offer  of  help  in  times  of 
emergency.  The  mandarins  may  profess  to  despise  the  foreign 
"  Barbarians  "  and  all  their  works,  but  whether  against  the  invading 
Manchus  or  the  rebellious  T'aip'ings  they  have  always  shown  a 
readiness  to  avail  themselves  of  any  assistance  which  foreigners 
have  chosen  to  offer.  In  this  case  they  instantly  accepted  the 
envoy's  proposal,  and  a  corps  of  two  hundred  Portuguese  arque- 
busiers,  with  an  equal  number  of  drilled  and  equipped  natives, 
were  enrolled  for  the  service.  With  a  certain  amount  of  parade 
this  small  force  traveled  from  Macao  to  Peking.  But  by  the 
time  they  reached  the  capital,  however,  the  emperor's  alarm  had 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS 


45 


1618-1621 

subsided,  and  his  zeal  having  consequently  diminished,  the  Portu- 
guese commander  was  politely  requested  to  leave  his  guns,  and  to 
march  his  men  back  to  Macao.  It  is  on  record  that  the  guns  so 
borrowed  eventually  did  good  service  against  the  enemy. 

But  though  effective,  these  weapons  failed  to  check  the  march 
of  the  Manchus,  who,  after  a  difficult  siege,  captured  the  city  of 
Moukden,  and  marched  to  the  attack  of  Liaoyang.  Here  a  vigorous 
defense  was  offered,  and  the  city  yielded  only  when  the  entire  garri- 
son had  been  put  to  the  sword.    After  the  capture  of  this  city  the 


native  historians  mention  incidentally  that  the  townspeople  acknowl- 
edged allegiance  to  their  new  masters  by  shaving  their  heads.  This 
is  the  first  reference  to  be  met  with  of  the  custom  of  shaving  the 
head  and  wearing  the  pigtail,  which  is  now  the  universal  custom  in 
China.  Such  a  subject  is  generally  beneath  the  notice  of  Chinese 
writers  of  history,  who  never  trouble  themselves  to  chronicle  any- 
thing but  the  events  occurring  in  court  and  camp  during  the  period 
of  which  they  write.  Their  silence  on  this  point  leaves  the  origin 
of  the  practice  obscure,  and  whether  it  was  a  Manchu  custom  or  one 
which  was  only  then  adopted  as  a  sign  of  conquest,  we  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining. 

Meanwhile  disturbances  of  a  serious  nature  broke  out  in  the 


46  CHINA 

1621-1626 

province  of  Szech'uan,  and  in  the  existing  distracted  state  of  the 
country  the  emperor's  forces  would  have  had  great  difficulty  in 
reestablishing  order  in  this  outlying  district  had  not  a  native 
heroine  stepped  into  the  breach.  Tsinliang,  the  female  chieftain  of 
one  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  in  the  province,  like  another  Joan  of 
Arc,  raised  a  large  force  on  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  to  supple- 
ment the  small  army  which  the  emperor  was  able  to  put  into  the 
field.  Success  attended  Tsinliang's  efforts  and  the  province  was 
recovered  for  the  imperialists.  But  this  rising  was  only  one  symp- 
tom of  the  evil  which  was  germinating  in  the  body  politic.  In 
Yunnan  and  Kweichow  leaders  arose  who  led  the  unruly  and  dis- 
affected after  them,  and  at  the  same  time  an  equally  serious  outbreak 
occurred  in  the  northeastern  province  of  Shantung,  where,  before 
the  prowess  and  skill  of  a  chief  named  Shu,  a  number  of  cities 
yielded  themselves  to  his  arms.  Shu,  however,  with  all  his  ability, 
had  not  the  makings  of  a  permanent  leader  of  men,  and  at  his  first 
reverse  his  followers  deserted  him. 

But  the  cloud  which  was  really  charged  with  danger  to  the 
dynasty  lay  over  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  empire,  where 
Nurhachu  was  still  threatening  the  frontier.  In  his  various  raids 
and  expeditions  he  was,  with  one  exception,  uniformly  successful; 
but  it  chanced  that  at  the  city  of  Ningyuan,  to  the  north  of  the 
Great  Wall,  there  was  stationed  a  general  whose  eminent  ability 
and  cool  courage  enabled  him  for  a  time,  at  least,  to  turn  back  the 
tide  of  war.  Against  this  fortress  Nurhachu  made  two  vigorous 
attacks,  and  on  both  occasions  was  defeated  with  heavy  loss.  Had 
the  defenders  of  the  walls  been  dependent  on  native  arms  alone  the 
result  might  possibly  have  been  different.  But  the  guns  which  the 
Portuguese  had  brought  from  Macao,  and  which  were  supplemented 
by  others  cast  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Jesuits  at  Peking, 
stood  on  the  battlements,  and  against  these  destructive  weapons 
the  Manchus  failed  even  to  hold  their  own.  Nurhachu  was  now 
an  elderly  man,  and  this  second  failure  was  more  than  his  declining 
energies  could  enable  him  to  withstand.  With  a  sense  of  his 
impending  doom  upon  him,  he  withdrew  his  troops  to  Moukden, 
where  in  1626  death  brought  to  an  end  a  great  and  memorable 
career.  The  mantle  of  the  deceased  warrior  fell  on  his  fourth  son, 
T'ientsung.  At  first  this  new  sovereign  showed  some  inclination 
to  come  to  terms  with  China;  but  if  his  desire  was  genuine  he,  to 
say  the  least,  made  his  advances  in  a  most  unfortunate  fashion : 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  4^ 

1626-1827 

"  There  is  only  one  sun  in  the  heavens  and  only  one  emperor  be- 
neath the  sky,"  is  the  Chinese  saying,  and  so  far  as  the  extreme 
east  of  Asia  is  concerned  there  is  some  justification  for  the  boast. 
When,  therefore,  T'ientsung  addressed  the  emperor  on  equal  tenns, 
the  imperial  advisers  were  taken  aback  at  his  audacity.  Nor  was 
their  irritation  diminished  when  news  reached  the  capital  that 
the  Manchus  had  invaded  Korea,  and  had  crushed  it  beneath  their 
heels.  Negotiations  for  peace,  therefore,  did  not  prosper,  and 
T'ientsung  determined,  in  default  of  successful  negotiations,  to 
take  up  arms  against  his  foes.  But  the  city  of  Ningyuan  still  stood 
between  him  and  his  prey,  and  his  forces  fared  no  better  before  its 
walls  than  had  his  father's  legions.  While  the  Manchus  were  thus 
being  held  at  arms'  length  by  this  faithful  city,  the  Chinese  emperor, 
T'iench'i,  became  a  guest  on  high  (1627),  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
younger  brother,  T'sungcheng.  The  renowned  skill  and  valor  of 
the  defender  of  Ningyuan  were,  as  the  Manchus  were  well  aware, 
rare  qualities  in  Chinese  generals,  and  T'ientsung  knew  with  equal 
certainty  that  if  he  could  once  pass  this  invincible  fortress  he  might 
achieve  easy  victories  in  the  fertile  plains  of  northern  China.  It 
is  a  common  axiom  of  war  that  it  is  unsafe  to  advance  into  an 
enemy's  country  while  leaving  a  strong  unconquered  fortress  in 
the  rear  of  the  invading  force.  There  are,  however,  exceptions  to 
this  dictum,  and  T'ientsung  rightly  considered  that  this  was  one. 
Acting  on  his  instinctive  perception,  he  proposed  to  his  generals  that 
he  should  mask  Ningyuan  and  march  at  once  on  Peking.  The 
idea  was  so  bold  that  it  met  with  opposition,  which,  however, 
finally  yielded  to  argument,  and  the  order  of  march  was  given. 
Assisted  by  his  Mongolian  allies  T'ientsung  led  his  troops  south- 
ward through  the  Ta-an  and  other  passes.  By  these  routes  the 
Manchu  army  poured  into  the  plains,  leaving  a  small  force  to  rep- 
resent the  main  body  before  Ningyuan.  Chunghwan,  the  defender 
of  Ningyuan,  was  not  long  deceived  by  this  maneuver.  He  felt 
that  he  was  out  of  touch  with  his  adversary,  and  his  suspicions  were 
confirmed  by  his  scouts,  who  brought  him  news  of  the  adventurous 
advance  of  the  enemy.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he  deter- 
mined on  the  course  to  be  pursued.  He  knew  the  capital  was  in- 
sufficiently garrisoned,  and  he  resolved  at  once  to  march  to  its  relief. 
Then  began  a  race  between  the  two  armies,  and  though  the  Manchus 
had  some  days*  start  the  delay  occasioned  by  the  necessary  invest- 
ment of  cities  by  the  way    enabled  Chunghwan  to  reach  Peking 


48  CHINA 

1627-1634 

first.  The  presence  of  this  very  formidable  opponent  convinced 
T'ientsung  that  his  chances  of  taking  the  city  by  fair  means  were 
very  considerably  diminished,  and  he  therefore  entered  into  a  plot  to 
bring  about  the  downfall  of  the  great  Chinese  general.  The  scheme 
he  adopted  was  as  mean  as  it  was  successful.  He  induced  some  of 
his  officers  to  hold  a  conversation  within  earshot  of  two  of  the 
palace  eunuchs  whom  he  had  taken  prisoners.  The  burden  of  their 
conversation  was  that  Chunghwan  had  turned  traitor,  and  had 
agreed  to  open  the  gates  of  the  city  to  the  Manchus.  So  soon  as 
the  subtle  poison  had  entered  the  ears  of  the  eunuchs  the  prison 
doors  were  left  unguarded,  and  the  captives  were  allowed  to  escape 
to  tell  their  imperial  master  of  the  supposed  treachery  of  the  man 
in  whom  he  trusted.  Fully  believing  the  truth  of  the  story,  the 
emperor  summoned  Chunghwan  to  his  presence,  when,  without 
giving  him  any  opportunity  of  defending  himself  against  the  slan- 
der, he  condemned  him  to  prison  and  to  the  execution  ground.  But 
even  without  the  strength  which  Chunghwan's  presence  had  added 
to  the  garrison  T'ientsung  felt  unable  to  carry  the  city,  and  being 
unwilling  to  continue  engaging  in  the  constant  encounters  which 
merely  tended  to  harass  his  troops,  he  raised  the  siege  and  retired 
northward.  The  Chinese,  who  always  prefer  following  a  retreat- 
ing, rather  than  facing  an  advancing  enemy,  hung  on  his  line  of 
march  and  recaptured  several  cities  which  had  previously  yielded  to 
the  Manchu  attack. 

In  this  direction  the  imperial  prospects  had  improved,  but  the 
advantage  was  only  momentary.  The  emperor  had  scarcely  ceased 
to  congratulate  himself  on  the  retreat  of  the  Manchus  when  news 
was  brought  him  of  the  outbreak  of  a  more  than  usually  formidable 
rebellion  in  the  province  of  Shensi.  This  revolt  was  headed  by  the 
two  powerful  rebel  leaders,  Chang  and  Li,  who,  at  first,  according 
to  the  historians,  fared  badly  at  the  hands  of  the  army  sent  against 
them.  But  Chinese  reports  from  battlefields  are  not  always  to  be 
trusted.  On  one  occasion,  however,  it  is  certain  that  the  imperial- 
ists gained  a  victory.  But  this  advantage  they,  with  a  folly  which 
would  be  inconceivable  except  on  the  ground  of  treachery,  turned 
to  their  own  detriment.  Having  driven  the  rebel  force  commanded 
by  Li  into  the  mountains  they  demanded  an  unconditional  sur- 
render. To  this  they  were  plainly  entitled,  for  so  impossible  did 
escape  appear  to  be  that  Li  at  once  agreed  to  lay  down  his  arms, 
though  with  a  certain  effrontery  he  added  the  condition  that  he  and 


I 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  49 

1634-1643 

his  men  should  be  allowed  to  go  their  way  in  safety.  To  these 
extravagant  terms  the  Chinese  general  agreed,  and  the  army  had 
the  mortification  of  seeing  thirty-six  thousand  rebels,  who  had  been 
completely  at  their  mercy,  march  off  scot  free. 

The  retreat  of  T'ientsung  into  Manchuria  was  by  no  means 
indicative  of  an  intention  to  give  up  his  great  enterprise ;  rather,  it 
was  with  the  idea  of  preparing  for  another  spring  at  the  prize  which 
was  destined  to  fall  into  his  country's  hands.  It  was  at  this  crisis 
that  the  Manchus,  for  the  first  time,  provided  themselves  with  artil- 
lery, having  learned  by  experience  that  the  god  of  battles  was  in 
the  habit  of  lending  his  countenance  to  the  destructive  guns  of  the 
foreigners.  As  a  preliminary  plan  of  campaign  they  overran  the 
districts  in  Mongolia  bordering  on  the  Great  Wall,  and  then  turned 
their  attention  to  the  strongly  fortified  city  of  Tungchow,  which, 
after  resisting  their  attack  for  some  time,  fell  into  their  hands,  to- 
gether with  the  fortified  position  of  Sungshan.  But  in  T'ientsung's 
opinion  these  advantages  availed  him  little  so  long  as  Ningyuan, 
which  was  now  commanded  by  the  celebrated  general  Wu  Sankwei, 
held  out  against  him.  With  this  fortress  in  his  rear  he  dared  not  ad- 
vance in  force  against  Peking,  and  pending  its  capture  he  was 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  raiding  expeditions  into  some  of  the 
northern  provinces  of  the  empire.  But  the  fates  were  adverse  to  him, 
and  in  their  wisdom  had  decreed  that,  though  in  sight  of  the  prom- 
ised land,  the  possession  of  the  goodly  heritage  should  be  left  to  other 
hands  than  his.  At  the  early  age  of  fifty-two  death  overtook  him  at 
Moukden,  in  1643,  ^^^f  however,  before  he  had  assumed,  for  the 
first  time  among  Manchu  rulers,  the  title  of  Emperor  of  China 
(1635),  and  had  founded  the  Ta  Ch'ing  Dynasty,  which  still  reigns. 
Meanwhile  the  Li  and  Chang  rebellion  had  been  making  way  in 
the  provinces.  In  Shensi,  Shansi,  and  Honan  the  first  named  had 
become  all  powerful,  and  to  Chang's  lot  had  fallen  considerable  suc- 
cess in  Hupeh  and  Kiangnan.  At  Hsiangyang  one  of  those  curious 
coincidences  which  occasionally  befall  adventurers  occurred  to 
Chang.  On  entering  the  city  he,  by  chance,  discovered  his  wife  and 
children,  who  had  been  captured  by  the  imj^erialists  some  ten 
months  before,  living  quietly  among  the  people.  That  they  had  not 
met  the  common  doom  of  the  relatives  of  rebels  is  probably  to  be 
attributed  less  to  the  mercy  of  their  captors  than  to  the  idea  that 
they  might  be  held  as  hostages  to  tempt  Chang  to  return  to  his 
allegiance.     Though  generally  victory  sided  with  Li  he  met  with 


60  CHINA 

1643 

failure  before  K'aifeng.  What  Ningyuan  had  been  to  T'ientsung 
that  city  was  to  Li.  His  repeated  attacks  on  the  fortress  were  as 
vain  as  the  washing  of  the  waves  against  a  rock,  and  after  numerous 
assaults,  in  one  of  which  he  lost  an  eye,  he  determined  to  adopt  a 
desperate  expedient  such  as  is  happily  unknown  in  civilized  warfare. 
Within  a  short  distance  of  the  city  walls  flows  the  sluggish  stream 
of  the  Yellow  River,  between  high  banks  which  rise  up  at  a  consid- 
erable elevation  above  the  plain.  All  that  was  necessary  to  effect 
the  ruin  of  the  city  was  to  make  a  breach  in  the  embankment  so  as 
to  flood,  as  has  often  happened  in  the  history  of  the  empire,  the 
neighboring  districts.  The  breach  was  made,  and  the  water  swept 
over  the  plain  and  into  the  city,  devastating  the  country  and  de- 
stroying imperialists  and  rebels  alike.  Fully  a  million  people  are 
said  to  have  perished  in  this  fearful  catastrophe,  Li  himself  losing 
ten  thousand  men  in  the  waters.  But  his  object  was  gained,  and 
what  Li's  soldiers  could  not  effect  the  Yellow  River  accomplished. 
When  the  breach  was  filled  in  and  the  flood  had  subsided  the  rebel 
banners  floated  on  the  ramparts  of  the  stronghold. 

Li  now  felt  his  position  to  be  sufficiently  strong  to  justify  him 
in  proclaiming  himself  king,  a  title  which  satisfied  his  ambition  for 
one  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time  his  taste  coming  with  eating  he 
took  to  himself  the  title  of  emperor  and  named  the  dynasty  which 
he  hoped  to  found,  the  T'ai  Shun.  Further,  in  imitation  of  the 
existing  system  of  government,  he  appointed  six  boards  of  office, 
and  satisfied  the  cravings  of  his  followers  by  establishing  ranks  of 
nobility  to  which  he  freely  admitted  them. 

Having  thus  placed  himself  on  the  throne  it  only  remained 
for  him  to  make  himself  master  of  the  capital,  and  to  accomplish 
this  object  he  undertook  an  adventurous  expedition  toward 
Peking.  By  the  way  he  captured  T'aiyuan,  the  capital  of  Shansi, 
and  then  led  his  triumphant  warriors  against  the  stronghold  of 
Ningwu.  This  fortress  was  strongly  garrisoned  and  valiantly  held, 
nor  was  it  taken  until  ten  thousand  of  the  besiegers  had  licked  the 
dust,  and  the  city  had  been  given  to  the  flames.  The  resistance 
which  the  Chinese  had  here  offered  gave  Li  a  pause  which,  however, 
was  of  short  duration.  Unexpectedly,  while  musing  on  the  possi- 
bilities of  a  retreat,  news  reached  him  of  the  surrender  of  the  cities 
of  Tat'ung  and  Hsunhwa.  The  road  to  Peking  was  thus  open  to 
him,  and  with  as  little  delay  as  possible  he  presented  himself  before 
the  walls  of  the  capital. 


RISE    OF     THE    MANCHUS  61 

1643 

Numerically  the  garrison  of  Peking  was  quite  large  enough 
to  defend  the  city,  but  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  Chinese  army  is 
ever  so  numerous  and  powerful  as  it  appears  to  be  on  paper.  Even, 
however,  with  the  army  as  it  was,  it  is  possible  that  a  stout  defense 
might  have  been  made,  and  that  the  city  might  have  been  held  until 
a  relieving  force  had  come  to  the  rescue.  But  other  influences  were 
at  work,  and  the  commander  of  the  southern  gates,  a  man  "  com- 
posed and  framed  of  treachery,"  opened  his  gate  to  the  enemy.  A 
faint-hearted  defense  of  the  palace  was  made  by  men  who  were 
more  concerned  for  their  own  safety  than  for  the  preservation  of 
the  dynasty,  and  the  emperor,  instead  of  placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  troops,  and  either  losing  his  life  or  saving  his  throne, 
took  to  flight.  From  the  top  of  a  hill  which  stands  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  city,  he  looked  down  upon  a  scene  of  bloodshed  and 
conflagration  such  as  is  the  common  fate  of  captured  cities  in  the 
East.  Finding  that  escape  on  the  northern  side  was  impossible  he 
returned  to  the  city,  hoping  to  find  a  way  open  to  him  in  some  other 
direction.  But  the  rebel  forces  on  all  sides  barred  his  exit.  Thus 
confronted  with  difficulty,  he  returned  to  the  hill,  and,  having  writ- 
ten a  letter  imploring  the  rebels  to  spare  his  people,  hanged  himself 
on  a  tree.  It  is  a  curious  illustration  of  the  Chinese  reverence  for 
a  royal  race  that  by  order  of  the  first  emperor  of  the  present  dynasty 
this  tree  was  loaded  with  chains  in  token  of  the  crime  it  had  com- 
mitted in  being  instrumental  to  the  death  of  a  Son  of  Heaven. 

Li  was  now  in  possession  of  Peking,  and  in  obedience  to  the 
usual  custom  in  such  cases,  the  magnates  of  the  capital  who  had 
survived  the  siege  presented  themselves  at  court  to  pay  their  hom- 
age to  him.  Among  these  was  a  certain  Wu,  whose  son,  Wu 
Sankwei,  had  succeeded  Chunghwan  in  the  command  at  Ningyuan, 
and  had  held  that  fortress  with  all  the  courage  of  his  predecessor. 
On  the  approach  of  Li's  army  the  emperor  had  ordered  this  officer 
to  march  to  the  relief  of  the  capital.  While  on  the  way  thither 
news  reached  him  of  the  fall  of  Peking  and  the  death  of  the  em- 
peror. Almost  simultaneously  a  messenger  arrived  bearing  a  letter 
from  his  father  urging  him  to  offer  his  submission  to  Li,  and  en- 
forcing his  entreaties  by  the  news  that  the  lives  of  himself  and  the 
other  members  of  the  family  at  Peking  depended  on  his  giving  in 
his  allegiance.  At  first  Wu  Sankwei  was  inclined  to  consent,  but 
while  he  was  yet  wavering  the  messenger  informed  him  of  an  event 
which  at  once  induced  him  to  take  the  opposite  course. 


6«  CHINA 

1643 

In  not  a  few  instances  in  the  world's  history  a  woman  has 
changed  the  fate  of  empires,  and  in  this  case  a  young  slave  girl 
was  indirectly  the  cause  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  present 
Manchu  Dynasty  in  China.  Before  he  had  left  Peking  to  take  up 
the  command  of  Ningyuan,  Wu  Sankwei  had  been  presented  by  a 
friend  with  a  young  slave  girl  who  added  great  beauty  to  her  many 
virtues.  It  was  possibly  with  the  thought  of  saving  her  from  the 
general  massacre  which,  as  a  Chinaman,  he  knew  would  overtake 
the  inhabitants  of  Peking  if  surrendered  to  Li,  that  at  the  first 
summons  he  had  marched  with  alacrity  to  the  relief  of  the 
capital. 

He  now  learned  from  the  messenger  that  Ch'enyuan,  as  the 
lady  was  called,  had  been  given  as  part  of  the  spoil  of  the  city  to  a 
rebel  officer.  After  this  outrage  submission  to  the  guilty  powers 
was  impossible,  and  he  obviously  had  no  compliments  to  exchange 
with  the  triumphant  rebel.  In  his  anger  he  wrote  two  notable  let- 
ters, one  upbraiding  his  father  for  yielding  the  lady  to  the  embraces 
of  a  rebel,  and  another  to  the  regent  of  the  Manchus,  inviting  him 
to  combine  with  him  in  an  attack  upon  the  new  ruler  of  Peking. 
This  startling  turn  of  events  made  it  incumbent  on  Li  to  march 
against  the  allies.  At  the  approach  of  the  rebel  legions,  Wu 
Sankwei,  who  had  returned  to  the  fortress  of  Shanhai  Kwan,  made 
every  preparation  to  oppose  the  advancing  host.  Thinking  it  pos- 
sible that  the  sight  of  his  father  might  cause  Wu  Sankwei  to  relent 
and  submit,  Li  ordered  that  the  old  man  should  be  led  out  within 
sight  of  the  walls.  With  tears  and  entreaties  the  father  implored  his 
son  to  save  his  life  by  submitting.  But  the  recollection  of  the  slave 
girl  at  Peking  was  too  fresh  in  memory  to  allow  Wu  Sankwei  to 
yield,  and  in  a  few  words  he  declared  that  no  power  on  earth  would 
induce  him  to  surrender  his  command  to  rebels,  and  to  rebels  who 
had  inflicted  such  a  wrong  upon  him.  The  duty  of  filial  obedience 
is  the  first  moral  law  recognized  by  the  Chinese,  and  in  any  other 
circumstances  Wu  Sankwei  would  doubtless  have  submitted.  But 
his  affections  outweighed  his  sense  of  duty,  and  he  did  not  hesitate 
a  moment  in  virtually  sentencing  his  father  to  death.  Seeing  that 
it  was  hopeless  to  expect  to  win  over  so  determined  an  enemy,  Li 
gave  the  order  for  the  execution  of  the  elder  Wu,  and  in  the  sight 
of  the  two  contending  armies  the  old  man  suffered  death  by 
decapitation. 

It  was  plain  that  there  was  now  a  breach  between  the  two  com- 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  63 

1644 

manders  that  nothing  could  bridge  over,  and  Wu  Sankwei  deter- 
mined to  take  what  revenge  he  could  by  marching  against  the 
enemy.  It  is  said  that  Li's  force  numbered  220,000  men.  But  noth- 
ing awed  by  these  huge  battalions,  the  imperialist  general  marched 
out  from  the  cover  of  the  fortress  and  gave  battle.  So  fierce  was  the 
onslaught  of  the  imperialists  that  the  rebel  cavalry  were  driven 
back  on  their  supports.  These  joined  in  the  engagement,  and 
but  for  the  undaunted  courage  of  Wu  and  his  men  would  certainly 
have  overwhelmed  them.  As  the  day  wore  on  it  became  plain  that 
their  ruin  was  inevitable  had  not  the  Manchu  regent,  Dorgun, 
prepared  a  seasonable  relief.  A  large  force  of  his  men  who  had 
been  disposed  in  secret  and  difficult  passes  in  the  mountains  suddenly 
assailed  the  rebels,  who  were  already  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that 
the  victory  was  won.  This  favorable  change  in  the  conditions  was 
improved  by  the  valor  of  Wu.  He  revived  the  courage  of  his  troops, 
and  pressed  the  rebels  on  every  side.  The  regent's  maneuver  was 
completely  successful.  The  rebels,  taken  by  surprise,  reeled  under 
the  shock  of  the  charge  of  the  Manchu  cavalry,  and  after  a  short 
and  half-hearted  stand  turned  and  fled.  For  fourteen  miles  the 
allies  followed  the  flying  enemy  and  slaughtered  them  in  hecatombs. 
To  Wu  was  assigned  the  duty  of  following  still  further  in  pursuit, 
while  the  Manchu  regent  returned  to  Shanhai  Kwan  to  rest  his 
troops,  who  were  already  exhausted  by  their  long  and  hurried 
march  from  Manchuria. 

Li  fled  to  Peking,  where,  having  possessed  himself  of  every- 
thing valuable  that  was  portable,  and  having  ordered  the  execution 
of  the  family  and  dependents  of  Wu,  he  set  fire  to  the  palace  and 
continued  his  flight  westward.  With  the  dogged  tenacity  of  a 
sleuthhound  Wu  followed  at  his  heels,  and,  strengthened  by  the 
prestige  of  victory,  inflicted  a  series  of  defeats  on  the  disheartened 
rebels.  There  is  always  a  tendency  to  desert  a  falling  cause,  and 
more  especially  is  this  true  in  China,  where  success  is  the  national 
test  of  merit.  Li's  men  were  now  suffering  the  dire  consequences 
of  an  unsuccessful  rebellion,  and  they  deserted  his  banners  in  whole 
battalions.  With  but  twenty  followers,  and  destitute  of  both  food 
and  clothing,  the  wretched  band  of  discomfited  rebels  were  driven 
to  supply  their  wants  by  plundering  the  poverty-stricken  peasantry 
of  Shensi.  Unfortunately  for  them  their  numbers  were  insufficient 
to  overawe  the  pillaged  rustics,  who,  seizing  the  implements  of 
their  toil,  turned  on  their  oppressors   and  cut  them  down  one  by 


64  CHINA 

1644 

one.  When  Wu's  troops  reached  Li's  final  halting  place  they  found 
nothing  but  the  bodies  of  the  arch  rebel  and  his  dwindled  following. 

Meanwhile  the  Regent  Dorgun,  who  held  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment for  his  infant  nephew  and  sovereign,  entered  Peking  in 
triumph  in  1644.  The  city  was  well-nigh  burned  to  the  ground, 
for  Wu  Sankwei's  beautiful  slave  girl  had,  like  another  Helen,  fired 
another  Troy.  In  these  circumstances  Dorgun  recognized  that  his 
first  duties,  if  he  was  to  establish  a  dynasty,  were  to  reassure  the 
people  by  establishing  order,  and  to  calm,  so  far  as  possible,  the 
proud  susceptibilities  of  the  upper  classes  by  showing  regard  to 
their  prejudices.  He  therefore  issued  a  proclamation  which  was 
more  conspicuous  for  its  policy  than  for  its  truth.  He  assured  the 
people  in  it  that  his  one  object  in  marching  into  the  capital  was 
to  save  them  from  the  pillage  and  violence  of  the  rebel  Li;  and 
he  urged  them  to  rebuild  the  ruined  city,  promising  to  protect  their 
goods  and  property  against  all  comers.  At  the  same  time  he  con- 
ferred the  posthumous  title  of  "  The  sedate  and  heroic  emperor  " 
on  the  sovereign  who  had  put  an  end  to  his  existence  on  the  hill 
above  Peking.  By  a  stroke  of  the  pen  he  proclaimed  the  removal 
of  the  capital  from  Moukden  to  Peking,  and  directed  that  his 
nephew,  who  was  then  but  six  years  old,  should  join  him  at  the 
latter  city.  The  revolution  was  now  complete,  and  the  new  dynasty 
established  which  still  holds  possession  of  the  throne.  The  young 
emperor  adopted  the  title  of  Shunchih. 

During  the  reigns  of  the  Ming  emperors  the  palace  eunuchs, 
as  has  often  happened  in  the  history  of  the  empire,  acquired  addi- 
tional power  as  the  hands  which  held  the  reins  of  government 
became  increasingly  nerveless.  The  danger  of  such  a  shameful 
usurpation  of  authority  is  sufficiently  obvious,  and  was  fully  rec- 
ognized by  Dorgun,  who  issued  an  order  that  henceforth  no  eunuch 
should  be  allowed  to  exercise  official  authority  under  the  crown,  and 
to  the  present  day  this  law  holds  force.  So  generally  conciliatory, 
however,  to  all  ranks  was  Dorgun's  attitude  that  the  upper  classes 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital  readily  gave  in  their  adhesion 
to  his  rule.  So  far  all  v^/as  well,  but  in  the  provinces  a  very  dif- 
ferent state  of  things  prevailed.  The  inhabitants  of  the  central 
provinces  had  had  no  knowledge  of  the  exactions  and  cruelties  of 
Li  and  his  confederates,  nor  had  they  experienced  the  relief  that 
had  been  felt  at  Peking  by  the  substitution  of  a  settled  government 
for  a  rebel  tyranny.    The  fact  also  that  for  the  most  part  they  were 


RISE    OF     THE    MANCHUS  66 

1644 

free  from  the  taint  of  Manchu  blood  naturally  inclined  them  to  take 
a  line  against  the  invaders.  For  this  last  reason  it  has  always  been 
that  among  the  people  of  the  south  the  Ming  Dynasty  has  found 
its  strongest  supporters.  In  modem  times  it  will  be  remembered 
that  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion,  which  had  for  its  proposed  object  the 
restoration  of  the  Chinese  rulers,  first  took  shape  in  Kwangsi, 
and  the  very  powerful  secret  society,  the  Kolaohwei,  which  has  its 
strongest  base  on  the  shores  of  the  Yang-tsze-kiang,  has  for  its 
motto,  "  Overthrow  the  Ch'ing  and  restore  the  Ming." 

At  this  time  in  the  old  capital  of  the  first  sovereign  of  the  Ming 
Dynasty,  there  arose  a  scholar,  Shih  K'ofa,  who  adopted,  in  prin- 
ciple, the  motto  of  the  Kolaohwei,  and  aroused  his  compatriots  in 
defense  of  the  expiring  line  of  sovereigns.  So  formidable  was  the 
movement  that  the  regent,  Dorgun,  thought  it  wisest  and  best  to 
open  negotiations  with  the  rebel.  But  Shih  declined  to  listen  to 
the  appeals  made  to  him,  and  declared  that  matters  had  reached  such 
a  crisis  that  the  decision  of  their  quarrel  must  be  left  to  the  arbit- 
rament of  war.  Meanwhile,  on  the  death  of  the  Ming  emperor, 
Ts'ungcheng,  it  had  become  necessary  to  elect  a  successor  to  the 
throne,  and  the  choice  fell  on  Fu  Wang,  a  son  of  the  prince  of  that 
name,  who  had  been  Wan  Li's  favorite  son,  and  who  had  returned 
the  kindness  shown  him  by  his  father  by  rebelling  against  him.  A 
more  unfortunate  choice  could  not  have  been  made.  For  such  an 
emergency  a  sovereign  was  required  who  should  be  a  man  endowed 
with  wisdom,  courage,  and  energy.  In  all  these  qualities  Fu  Wang 
was  signally  wanting,  and  he  spent  in  lust  and  riot  time  which 
should  have  been  devoted  to  furthering  his  cause  and  consolidating 
his  forces.  In  the  campaign  which  followed  on  the  marching  of  the 
Manchu  army  to  suppress  the  revolt  Fu  Wang  was  rather  an 
incumbrance  than  otherwise,  and  the  whole  conduct  of  the  war  fell 
upon  Shih. 

On  the  lower  waters  of  the  Yang-tsze-kiang,  and  close  to  the 
junction  of  the  Grand  Canal  with  that  river,  stands  the  ancient  city 
of  Yangchow,  which  commands  the  approach  to  Nanking  from  the 
north.  Here  Shih  took  his  stand  and  awaited  the  attack  of  the 
enemy.  Nor  was  this  attack  long  delayed.  Accustomed  to  length- 
ened marches  and  constant  fatigues,  the  Manchus  passed  rapidly 
over  country  which  represented  leisurely  marches  to  less  nomadic 
troops,  and  appeared  suddenly  before  the  walls.  For  seven  days 
the  fighting  lasted  around  the  doomed  city,  and  at  the  end  of 


56  CHINA 

1645 

that  time  the  Manchus  rushed  to  the  assault.  The  exhausted  gar- 
rison failed  to  withstand  the  terrible  onslaught,  and  in  the  midst 
of  awful  bloodshed  the  city  fell.  The  diary  of  a  contemporary  in- 
habitant of  Yangchow  has  lately  been  published,  and  from  it  it  is 
easy  to  gather  both  that  the  arrival  of  the  Manchus  before  the  walls 
was  quite  unexpected,  and  that  the  slaughter  of  the  inhabitants  even 
after  the  city  was  taken  was  carried  out  with  brutal  cruelty  and 
thoroughness.  Shih  was  cut  down  as  he  was  attempting  to  make 
his  escape  by  way  of  the  north  gate,  and  his  troops  were  slaughtered 
almost  to  a  man.  Leaving  a  garrison  within  the  walls,  the  Manchu 
leader  marched  on  to  Nanking,  where  the  puppet  Fu  Wang  was 
indulging  in  all  the  vices  and  follies  common  to  Oriental  sovereigns 
of  the  baser  sort.  In  the  midst  of  a  drunken  carouse  the  news  was 
brought  him  of  the  approach  of  the  Manchus.  To  a  man  of  imperial 
caliber  such  a  juncture  would  have  suggested  that  he  should  place 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops  and  march  against  the  enemy. 
But  the  only  idea  which  occurred  to  Fu  Wang  was  to  fly  from  his 
capital,  leaving  it  a  prey  to  the  advancing  hosts.  His  flight  availed 
him  nothing,  for  he  was  speedily  overtaken  by  a  mounted  force 
sent  in  pursuit,  and  was  brought  a  prisoner  into  Nanking,  where 
after  a  short  shrift  he  was  beheaded. 

For  three  days  Ch'ang  Wang,  who  succeeded  Fu  Wang,  en- 
joyed the  empty  title  of  emperor  and  held  court  for  that  brief 
period  at  Hangchow.  But  the  valor  of  the  early  Ming  sovereigns 
had  long  exhausted  itself,  and  instead  of  attempting  to  defend 
the  city  he  opened  the  gates  to  the  enemy  on  the  understanding 
that  they  should  spare  the  lives  of  himself  and  of  the  inhabitants. 
Oriental  leaders  are  bad  people  to  treat  with  in  such  emergencies, 
and  though  in  this  case  the  people  were  left  unmolested,  the  first 
act  of  the  Manchu  leader  was  to  order  the  execution  of  the  occu- 
pier of  the  Ming  throne.  The  next  to  assume  the  imperial  purple 
was  T'ang  Wang,  a  descendant  of  Hungwu,  the  first  sovereign  of 
the  Ming  Dynasty.  Though  this  man  showed  more  of  the  royal 
spirit  than  his  immediate  predecessors  had  done,  all  his  efforts  to 
oppose  the  Manchus  proved  fruitless,  and  the  whole  of  the  rich  and 
fertile  district  embracing  the  cities  of  Ningpo,  Shanghai,  Wen- 
chow,  and  T'aichow  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders.  At  Ting- 
chow  T'ang  Wang  was  captured,  and  there  the  usual  fate  of 
defeated  sovereigns  overtook  him. 

But  though  defeated  everywhere  on  land,   hopes  were  still 


i  RISE    OF    THE    MANCHUS  57 

1645-1661 

entertained  that  the  immense  fleet  commanded  by  Cheng  Chihlung 
might  yet  turn  the  tide  of  war.  Admiral  Cheng  was  a  native  of 
the  maritime  province  of  Fuhkien,  and  had  in  early  life  come  under 
the  influence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  who  labored  in 
the  cause  of  their  faith  in  that  province.  Being  of  a  restless  dispo- 
sition and  probably  attracted  by  his  Portuguese  fathers  in  God,  he 
migrated  to  Macao  and  thence  drifted  to  Manila,  and  subsequently 
to  Japan.  Like  most  foreign  visitors  to  Japan  he  fell  under  the 
charm  of  the  women  of  that  country,  and  eventually  took  one  to 
wife,  by  whom  a  son  was  born,  who  was  named  Cheng  Kung. 
Cheng's  early  years  had  been  passed  in  poverty,  and,  following 
the  instincts  of  his  race,  his  one  absorbing  desire  was  to  court  the 
god  of  wealth.'  When,  therefore,  an  opportunity  presented  itself 
for  laying  the  foundation  of  an  enormous  fortune,  which,  however, 
any  honorable  man  would  have  disregarded,  he  seized  on  it  without 
a  scruple.  Having  wormed  himself  into  the  good  graces  of  a 
Japanese  merchant,  he  induced  his  employer  to  intrust  him  with  a 
rich  cargo  for  the  China  markets.  On  arriving  at  Foochow  he, 
without  the  slightest  compunction,  appropriated  the  cargo,  and 
with  the  proceeds  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  piratical  junks,  with  which  he 
harried  the  coast  and  plundered  the  merchant  shipping.  So  suc- 
cessful was  he  in  this  enterprise  that  he  quickly  amassed  colossal 
wealth,  and  with  it  gained  considerable  power  and  importance. 
Following  a  time-honored  precedent,  the  emperor,  fearing  to  com- 
bat him,  made  overtures  to  the  successful  pirate,  on  whom,  at  his 
submission  to  the  throne,  he  conferred  the  rank  of  admiral.  With 
honeyed  words  the  new  commander  was  invited  to  Peking,  and 
once  there  was  placed  in  the  position  of  a  state  prisoner.  So  long 
as  the  Emperor  Shunchih  reigned  he  was  allowed  to  live  at  ease 
within  the  city  walls,  for  the  emperor,  like  another  David,  had 
promised  that  no  harm  should  befall  him  while  under  his  protec- 
tion. But  whether  with  or  without  the  treacherous  message 
addressed  to  Solomon  with  which  David  sealed  Joab's  fate,  the 
emperor  had  no  sooner  become  a  guest  on  high  than  the  regents 
appointed  during  the  minority  of  his  successor  threw  the  late 
pirate  into  prison,  and  eventually  sent  him  to  the  execution  ground. 
The  son  bom  to  Cheng  by  his  Japanese  wife  had  at  an  early  period 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  emperor.  At  the  extraordinarily 
youthful  age  of  fifteen  this  scion  of  the  pirate  took  his  degree  at 
the  competitive  examinations,  and  as  a  reward  for  his  eminent 


58  CHINA 

1645-1661 

ability  the  emperor  conferred  on  him  his  own  surname  of  Chit, 
and  further  honored  him  by  expressing  a  regret  that  he  had  no 
daughter  to  bestow  upon  him  in  marriage. 

From  the  circumstance  of  his  having  received  the  imperial 
surname  he  was  designated  Kwosingye  ("  Possessor  of  the  Na- 
tional Surname"),  which  has  been  corrupted  by  foreigners  into 
Koxinga.  When  Admiral  Qieng  was  invited  to  Peking  the  em- 
peror hoped  that  Koxinga  would  have  accompanied  him.  But  the 
young  man  feared  the  imperial  messengers  with  their  gifts,  and 
instead  of  journeying  with  his  father  northward,  carried  off  a 
fleet  which  he  had  collected  and  sailed  to  the  Pescadores,  where 
he  fortified  himself  against  all  comers. 

Meanwhile  the  rebellion  in  the  provinces  continued  with  vary- 
ing success.  At  one  time  Kwei  Wang,  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
Ming  throne  on  the  death  of  T'ang  Wang,  appeared  to  be  gaining 
ground.  In  Kiangsi  and  Kwangtung  his  generals  were  victorious, 
and  the  great  prize  of  Canton  fell  into  his  hands.  But  once  more 
the  tide  turned,  and  the  people  of  the  provinces  and  cities  had 
scarcely  yet  learned  to  pronounce  again  the  shibboleth  of  the  Ming 
Dynasty  when  such  of  them  as  survived  again  passed  under  the 
Manchu  rule.  On  the  recapture  of  Canton,  Koxinga,  who  had 
favored  the  Ming  cause  in  so  far  as  it  chimed  in  with  his  piratical 
instincts,  gave  refuge  on  board  his  ships  to  the  fugitive  population. 
With  an  immense  force  he  subsequently  attacked  the  Tartar  de- 
tachments on  the  coast  of  Fuhkien,  and  gained  considerable  advan- 
tages over  them.  He  then  proceeded  northward,  and  even  ven- 
tured to  undertake  the  siege  of  Nanking.  This,  however,  was  a 
venture  beyond  his  power,  and  while,  as  it  is  said,  his  troops  were 
reveling  in  anticipation  of  the  assault  on  the  city,  which  they  were 
to  have  made  on  the  following  morning,  the  Manchu  leader  de- 
livered an  attack  which  utterly  discomfited  Koxinga's  host.  Three 
thousand  men  of  the  besieging  army  were  slain,  and  Koxinga, 
with  the  remnants  of  his  fleet  and  army,  sailed  to  the  more  con- 
genial regions  of  the  south.  The  Manchus  have  never  been  good 
sailors.  To  them  the  sea  is  a  foreign  element,  and  so  long  as  there 
was  an  effective  Chinese  fleet  they  were  always  subject  to  disaster 
on  the  coast.  In  other  parts  of  the  empire  victory  followed  their 
standards,  and  Kwei  Wang's  fortunes  reached  their  lowest  ebb. 

We  have  seen  how  Wu  Sankwei  followed  the  flying  footsteps 
of  the  rebel  Li  until  he  ran  him  to  earth,  and  now  with  the  same 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  69 

1645-16*1 

ruthless  tenacity  he  chased  Kwei  Wang  through  the  provinces  of 
Kweichow  and  Yunnan,  and  even  over  the  border  into  Burma. 
On  arriving  at  the  Burmese  capital  the  imperial  fugitive  had  been 
cordially  received  by  the  king,  who,  however,  at  the  sight  of  Wu 
Sankwei's  large  and  threatening  army,  thought  it  wise  to  forego 
the  pleasure  of  hospitality.  He  therefore  handed  his  guest  over  to 
the  Chinese  general,  in  whose  custody  he,  either  by  his  own  hands 
or  by  those  of  executioners,  met  his  fate.  Hitherto  the  fortunes 
of  the  Manchus  had  been  guided  by  the  regent,  Dorgun,  but  about 
this  time  the  young  emperor  was  by  an  adverse  fate  deprived  of 
his  counsel.  During  a  hunting  expedition  which  he  had  under- 
taken into  Manchuria  death  overtook  him,  much  to  the  grief  of  the 
youthful  sovereign,  who  granted  him  an  imperial  funeral  and 
eulogized  his  virtues  in  an  imperial  edict.  But  while  the  memory 
of  his  services  was  yet  green,  a  charge  of  intended  rebellion  was 
brought  against  him.  Inquiries,  the  value  of  which  may  fairly  be 
doubted,  having  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  boy  emperor  that 
this  charge  was  well  founded,  the  honors  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  him  were  canceled  and  his  named  consigned  to  oblivion.  It 
is  evidence  of  the  supremacy  which  the  Manchus  had  acquired  at 
this  time  that  two  European  embassies  arrived  at  Peking  with  the 
design  of  opening  diplomatic  relations  with  Shunchih.  Though 
they  came  by  different  routes,  the  Dutch  arriving  by  sea  and  the 
Russian  overland  through  Siberia,  the  reception  which  they  met 
with  was  the  same,  and  was  not  such  as  to  encourage  others  to  fol- 
low in  their  footsteps.  As  a  preliminary  they  were  told  that  on 
entering  the  presence  of  the  emperor  they  would  be  expected  to 
"  k'ot'ow."  The  Dutchman  yielded,  and  got  very  little  for  his 
pains.  After  lengthy  negotiations  and  a  liberal  distribution  of 
presents  the  imperial  answer  to  his  petition  was  couched  in  these 
words :  "  You  have  asked  leave  to  come  to  trade  in  my  country, 
but  as  your  country  is  so  far  distant,  and  the  winds  on  the  east 
coast  so  boisterous  and  so  dangerous  to  your  ships,  if  you  do  think 
fit  to  send  hither  I  desire  it  may  be  but  once  every  eight  years,  and 
no  more  than  one  hundred  men  in  a  company,  twenty  of  whom 
may  come  up  to  the  place  where  I  keep  my  court."  The  Russians, 
as  a  reward  for  their  contumacy,  were  not  even  granted  these  doubt- 
ful privileges,  but  were  dismissed  no  richer  than  they  came,  and  re- 
turned by  Siberia  to  report  their  failure  to  the  Czar.  These  were 
the  first  European  embassies  which  reached  Peking  (1656),  and 


60  CHINA 

1645-1663 

their  receptions  taught  lessons  which  happily  were  not  altogether 
lost  upon  their  successors.  While  affairs  were  thus  settling  down 
in  the  empire  Koxinga  was  pursuing  his  piratical  course  with  vary- 
ing success.  That  he  harried  the  coast  is  conclusively  proved  from 
the  fact  that  the  emperor  thought  it  necessary  to  issue  an  edict 
commanding  the  natives  of  the  littoral  provinces  to  retire  four 
leagues  inland — a  command  which,  strange  to  say,  was  strictly 
enforced. 

It  was  while  the  Empire  was  in  this  unsettled  state  that  the 
emperor,  Shunchih,  was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  in  1661,  after  a 
reign  of  eighteen  years.  Before  his  death  he  nominated  his  second 
son  as  heir  to  the  throne.  No  choice  could  have  been  happier. 
K'anghsi  was  in  every  way  qualified  to  rule.  From  his  youth  up, 
as  it  proved,  he  was  straightforward,  honest,  and  of  good  report, 
and  after  a  reign  of  sixty-one  years,  during  which  time  he  ruled 
his  subjects  with  firmness  and  justice,  he  died  regretted  by  all.  He 
was  only  eight  years  old  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  and  his 
earlier  years  of  sovereignty  were  guided  by  the  advice  of  four 
regents  appointed  by  his  father.  After  the  death  of  Kwei  Wang 
the  most  important  rebellious  force  in  the  empire  with  which  the 
regents  had  to  contend  was  that  commanded  by  Koxinga,  and  they 
at  once  took  steps  to  crush  their  dangerous  opponent.  In  1663  a 
Chinese  fleet,  in  conjunction  with  some  Dutch  ships,  whose  co- 
operation had  been  secured,  attacked  the  pirate  in  his  haunts  at 
Amoy.  Victory  attended  the  allies,  and  Koxinga,  finding  it  no 
longer  possible  to  retain  his  hold  on  the  mainland,  took  ship  to 
Formosa,  where  he  established  himself  as  king,  and  where  he  sub- 
sequently died  in  a  fit  of  madness.  The  empire  may  now  be  said 
to  have  reached  a  time  of  peace,  a  formidable  rebellion  which  had 
broken  out  in  Szech'uan  having  previously  collapsed.  This  move- 
ment funishes  so  apt  an  illustration  of  the  fiendish  cruelty  which 
too  often  governs  the  action  of  Orientals  when  fighting  for  a  fail- 
ing cause,  that  it  deserves  mention.  Being  anxious  to  secure  the 
support  of  the  learned  for  his  enterprise,  Hsi  Wang,  the  rebel 
chief,  induced  thirty  thousand  Literati  of  the  province  to  take  up 
their  residence  at  his  capital  at  Ch'engtu.  On  some  slight  provoca- 
tion the  tyrant  ordered  the  slaughter  of  every  one  of  the  Confu- 
cianists,  and  subsequently  massacred  six  hundred  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  on  the  bare  suspicion  that  they  were  dis- 
affected toward  him.    But  his  culminating  crime  was  yet  to  come. 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  61 

1663-1667 

As  is  the  case  with  most  rebel  armies,  his  enormous  forces  had 
been  kept  together  by  the  prospect  of  the  plunder  to  which  he  had 
hitherto  been  able  to  lead  them,  and  among  the  spoils  taken  from 
the  conquered  districts  had  been  immense  numbers  of  women  and 
girls,  several  of  whom  had  been  given  as  prizes  to  each  of  the 
soldiers.  In  the  easy  times  of  success  the  existence  of  these  camp 
followers,  though  burdensome,  was  readily  sanctioned,  but  in  the 
face  of  danger  and  difficulty,  of  rapid  movements,  and  of  fierce 
attacks,  their  presence  was  plainly  inconsistent  with  the  efficiency 
of  the  army.  Hsi  Wang  felt  therefore  that  they  were  to  be  got 
rid  of,  and  he  knew  of  only  one  way  of  accomplishing  his  object. 
In  pursuance  of  it  he  issued  an  edict  commanding  every  soldier  to 
bring  his  women  on  to  the  parade  ground  at  a  certain  hour,  and 
then  at  a  given  signal  the  tyrant  himself  set  the  example  which  he 
desired  should  be  followed,  by  slaying  his  handmaids  with  his  own 
hands.  It  is  said  that  on  that  day  four  hundred  thousand  women 
were  slaughtered.  In  dealing  with  such  facts  it  is  fortunate  that 
we  are  not  bound  to  accept  the  figures  mentioned  as  being  accurate. 
Orientals  delight  in  round  numbers,  and  it  should  in  fairness  be 
remembered  that  the  accounts  we  have  of  these  transactions  come 
from  the  pens  of  imperialist  chroniclers,  who  certainly  would  not 
be  inclined  to  understate  the  crimes  of  their  opponents. 

The  position  of  a  regent  in  an  Oriental  country  is  one  which 
is  always  surrounded  with  difficulties.  Every  act  is  liable  to  be 
misconstrued,  and  every  mistake  is  apt  to  be  visited  with  undue 
censure.  If  this  is  the  case  when  one  regent  holds  the  reins  of 
power,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  when  four  coequal  potentates  reign 
supreme  there  must  inevitably  be  abundant  opportunities  for  jeal- 
ousies and  heart-burnings.  Such  was  eminently  the  case  at  the 
present  time,  and  to  such  lengths  did  the  consequent  disagreements 
go,  that  the  emperor  by  a  stroke  of  his  pen  dissolved  the  regency 
and  himself  assumed  the  government  in  1667.  To  no  section  of 
the  community  was  this  change  more  welcome  than  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  and  their  converts.  During  the  reign  of 
Shunchih  every  consideration  had  been  paid  them,  and  high  honors 
had  been  conferred  on  their  most  eminent  member,  Pere  Schaal, 
who  had  even  held  the  lofty  and  responsible  post  of  tutor  to  the 
young  emperor.  No  sooner,  however,  were  Shunchih's  eyes  sealed 
in  death  than  the  regents,  who,  in  the  true  spirit  of  Chinese  con- 
servatism, had  cherished  a  bitter  resentment  at  the  favor  which 


6«  CHINA 

1661-1667 

had  been  shown  to  the  foreigners  and  their  faith,  threw  Schaal  into 
prison  under  one  of  those  charges  which  are  so  easily  trumped 
up  against  unpopular  personages  in  Eastern  countries,  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  by  Lingeh'ih,  or  the  slow  and  lingering  pro- 
cess. Fortunately  even  the  regents  were  wise  enough  to  abstain 
from  putting  this  cruel  sentence  into  execution,  and  Schaal  was  left 
in  prison  until  death  released  him  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of 
his  age. 

Unfortunately  this  consummation  was  reached  before  K'anghsi 
began  to  rule.  But  no  sooner  had  he  taken  the  reins  than  he  did 
all  in  his  power  to  redress  the  balance  which  had  of  late  been  so 
unfairly  turned  against  the  missionaries.  It  is  curious  to  see,  how- 
ever, how  strong  the  opposition  was  to  any  extension  of  privileges 
to  that  body.  The  half-hearted  measures  of  relief  accorded  to 
them  by  K'anghsi  sufficiently  mark  the  difficulties  with  which  he 
had  to  contend.  He  issued  an  imperial  edict  granting  leave  to  the 
missionaries  who  had  been  driven  into  hiding  by  the  regents  to 
return  to  their  churches,  but  forbade  them  to  proselytize.  "  As 
we  do  not  restrain  the  lamas  of  Tartary,"  so  ran  the  edict,  "  or 
the  bonzes  of  China,  from  building  temples  and  burning  incense, 
we  cannot  refuse  these  having  their  own  churches,  and  publicly 
teaching  their  religion,  especially  as  nothing  has  been  alleged 
against  it  as  contrary  to  law.  Were  we  now  to  do  this  we  should 
contradict  ourselves.  We  hold  therefore  that  they  may  build  tem- 
ples to  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  maintain  them  wherever  they  will ; 
and  that  those  who  honor  them  may  freely  resort  to  them  to  burn 
incense  and  to  observe  the  rites  usual  to  Christianity." 

Meanwhile  Pere  Verbiest,  a  Dutch  priest,  had  succeeded  Pere 
Schaal  at  Peking.  The  young  emperor,  who  was  greatly  inter- 
ested in  philosophy  and  science,  and  who  had  found  the  father 
proficient  in  both  subjects,  appointed  him  his  tutor,  and  listened 
with  eager  attention  to  his  discourses  on  the  intricate  subjects 
of  Christianity  and  philosophy.  It  so  happened  that  at  this  time 
doubts  arose  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  calendar  issued  by  the 
astronomical  board.  In  this  difficulty  the  emperor  turned  to  Pere 
Verbiest,  who  demonstrated  to  his  majesty's  complete  satisfaction 
that  an  egregious  mistake  had  been  made  by  the  native  astron- 
omers. As  a  reward  for  his  knowledge  and  sagacity  the  emperor 
made  the  priest  president  of  the  board,  and  dismissed  the  native 
presidents  from  their  offices,  at  the  same  time  commanding  the  new  ^ 


RISE    OF    THE     MANCHUS  63 

1667-1671 

president  to  issue  a  revised  calendar.  The  disgraced  officials,  fear- 
ful lest  their  ignorance  should  be  made  public  throughout  the 
empire,  begged  Verbiest  not  to  expose  the  mistake  into  which  they 
had  fallen.  He,  however,  refused  to  listen  to  their  pleadings,  and 
possibly  with  a  self-righteous  satisfaction  at  the  consciousness  that 
he  was  right  and  that  they  were  wrong,  refused  in  any  way  to 
blink  their  error.  The  wisdom  of  this  course  was  open  to  doubt, 
and  in  the  persecutions  that  followed  it  may  well  be  imagined  that 
a  recollection  of  this  passage  of  arms  may  have  added  virulence 
to  the  aspersions  of  the  Literati. 

During  the  campaign  against  the  Ming  rebels  which  had  ended 
in  consolidating  the  imperial  power,  it  had  been  deemed  wise  to 
confer  the  rank  of  prince  on  the  three  generals  who  had  con- 
tributed most  to  the  success  of  the  cause.  The  leader  of  these  three 
was  the  redoubtable  Wu  Sankwei,  who  by  virtue  of  his  office  was 
practically  in  possession  of  the  provinces  of  Kweichow  and  Yun- 
nan. The  other  two  viceroys  presided  over  the  destinies  of  Kwang- 
tung  and  Kwangsi ;  and  of  Fuhkien  and  Chehkiang.  All  these  three 
were  Chinamen,  and,  therefore,  were  not  bound  by  racial  ties  to 
the  new  dynasty.  Their  careers,  also,  had  not  displayed  any  fixed 
loyalty  to  any  given  cause,  and  K'anghsi  felt  that  it  was  dangerous 
to  leave  them  in  undisputed  possession  of  their  viceroyalties.  Of 
the  three  he  had  reason  to  dread  Wu  Sankwei  the  most,  both  from 
his  character  and  from  the  influence  which  he  wielded,  and  though 
he  held  Wu's  son  as  a  hostage  for  his  father's  loyalty,  he  deemed 
it  only  prudent  to  put  the  views  of  the  veteran  to  the  test.  It  has 
always  been  usual  for  high  dignitaries  to  visit  the  court  at  varying 
intervals,  and  there  was  nothing  unusual,  therefore,  in  the  sum- 
mons which  K'anghsi  issued  inviting  Wu  to  present  himself  at  the 
capital.  But  the  younger  Wu,  who  was  connected  by  marriage 
with  the  court,  being  aware  of  the  course  which  the  imperial  sus- 
picions were  taking,  dispatched  a  messenger  to  his  father  warning 
him  not  to  accept  the  invitation.  Acting  on  this  hint,  Wu  pleaded 
old  age  and  begged  the  emperor  to  excuse  his  undertaking  such  a 
long  journey.  This  implied  refusal  confirmed  the  emperor's  sus- 
picions, but  being  unwilling  immediately  to  drive  so  powerful  a 
man  into  open  enmity,  he  commissioned  officials  to  inquire  whether 
decrepitude  really  debarred  Wu  from  presenting  himself  at  Peking. 
Wu  received  these  by  no  means  welcome  visitors  with  a  show 
of  cordiality,  but  when  they  broached  the  real  object  of  their  visit 


64 


CHINA 


1671-1678 

and  urged  him  to  comply  with  the  emperor's  desire,  he  felt  that  it 
was  time  to  speak  plainly.  "  Yes,  I  will  come  to  Peking,"  he  said, 
"  but  it  will  be  at  the  head  of  eighty  thousand  soldiers." 

This  declaration  made  further  negotiations  unnecessary,  and 
the  envoys  returned  to  Peking  to  report  their  want  of  success. 
Meanwhile,  Wu  Sankwei  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  form  a  separate  state  of  the  provinces  under  his  control. 
He  had  on  a  former  occasion  sacrificed  his  father  to  his  political 
leanings,  and  now  his  action  was  destined  to  send  his  son  to  the 
execution  ground.  The  historians  tell  us  that  the  younger  Wu 
had  been  detected  in  a  plot  to  assassinate  the  emperor  in  his  pal- 
ace. This  possibly  may  have  been  so,  for  Oriental  courts  are  fit 
scenes  for  "  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils,"  but  the  reported 
crime  so  closely  synchronizes  with  his  father's  rebellion  that  there 
appears  to  be  a  likelihood  that  the  charge,  if  ever  preferred,  was 
trumped  up  to  justify  the  extreme  measures  which  the  emperor 
took  against  him. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  his  son  added  intensity  to  Wu 
Sankwei's  hatred  of  the  usurping  dynasty,  and  in  1674  he  killed 
the  governor  of  Yunnan,  and  virtually  conquered  that  province, 
together  with  Kweichow,  Szech'uan,  and  Hunan.  Being  still  will- 
ing, however,  to  arrive  at  a  peaceable  solution  K'anghsi  once  more 
attempted  to  open  negotiations  with  him,  but  the  veteran  was  ir- 
reconcilable, and  so  potent  was  his  influence  that  his  two  fellow- 
princes  threw  in  their  lot  with  his,  and  thus  the  whole  of  the  west 
and  south  of  China  were  in  arms  against  the  Manchus.  To  add 
to  the  complexity  of  the  position  an  outbreak  occurred  within  the 
walls  of  Peking,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Mongol  chieftain,  Sat- 
char,  threatened  the  northern  frontier  with  a  hundred  thousand 
men.  The  emergency  was  one  which  may  well  have  tried  the  stout- 
est courage.  But  K'anghsi  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  By  the  aid 
of  troops  drawn  from  the  Liaotung  peninsula  he  crushed  the  Mon- 
gol movement,  and  brought  Satchar  with  his  family  as  prisoners 
to  Peking,  Having  thus  disposed  of  the  difficulty  in  his  rear  he 
marched  his  armies  against  the  southern  rebels.  Success  attended 
his  arms.  The  provinces  of  Fuhkien  and  Chehkiang  were  recov- 
ered without  striking  a  blow  by  the  submission  of  the  viceroy,  and! 
Wu  was  driven  out  of  Hunan  and  Szech'uan.  To  inspire  his 
troops  with  zeal  K'anghsi,  in  1678,  proposed  to  place  himself  at 
their  head,  and  while  preparing  to  leave  Peking  for  the  front  the 


I 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  66 

1678-1681 

welcome  news  reached  him  of  the  death  of  \Vu.  With  the  disap- 
pearance from  the  pohtical  stage  of  this  veteran,  the  back  of  the 
rebelhon  may  be  said  to  have  been  broken.  Wu's  grandson,  who 
succeeded  to  the  command,  though  brave,  failed  to  preserve  the 
frontiers  committed  to  him.  By  the  relentless  and  persistent 
Manchu  he  was  driven  from  city  to  city,  until  he  reached  Yunnan 
Fu,  where  he  made  his  last  stand.  The  city,  however,  was  taken, 
and  to  avoid  submitting  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  imperialists 
the  rebel  chief  committed  suicide.  With  Oriental  barbarity  the 
Manchu  leader  beheaded  the  lifeless  corpse,  and  sent  the  head  as  a 
trophy  to  Peking;  but  even  this  did  not  satisfy  his  cruel  humor. 
With  an  excess  of  brutality  he  disinterred  the  body  of  Wu  Sankwei, 
and  so  scattered  the  bones  over  the  provinces  which  had  owned 
his  sway  in  life  that  no  one  should  be  able  to  say  "  this  is  Wu 
Sankwei."  The  year  in  which  these  events  took  place  had  been 
a  distressful  one  to  China.  As  if  in  sympathy  with  the  disturbed 
political  conditions  an  earthquake  shook  the  foundations  of 
Peking,  and  destroyed  three  hundred  thousand  within  the  city  and 
neighborhood. 

Peace,  however,  having  been  once  more  restored  within  the 
"  eighteen  provinces,"  K'anghsi  had  an  opportunity  of  attacking 
Koxinga's  successor,  who  held  a  rebellious  sway  in  the  Pescadores 
and  Formosa.  At  the  head  of  three  hundred  ships  containing 
twelve  thousand  men  the  Manchu  commander  sailed  to  attack  the 
island  fastnesses  of  the  rebels  in  the  first-named  group.  With  this 
imposing  force  he  advanced  to  the  attack,  but  was  met  by  a  de- 
termined resistance  on  the  part  of  the  pirates.  The  battle  lasted  all 
day,  and  at  the  close  the  Manchus  were  completely  successful. 
Twelve  thousand  rebels  are  said  to  have  been  slain,  and  the  major- 
ity of  the  survivors  taking  ship  fled  to  Formosa.  Thither  the 
Manchus  followed  them,  but  their  ships  being  of  considerable 
draught  they  were,  at  first,  unable  to  approach  the  shore.  An  un- 
usually high  spring  tide,  however,  carried  the  vessels  over  the  shal- 
lows in  precisely  the  same  way  as  that,  remembered  by  the  rebels, 
in  which  Koxinga's  ships  had  been  brought  within  striking  distance 
of  the  shore.  The  similarity  of  the  two  incidents  deeply  impressed 
the  superstitious  natives,  who,  readily  accepting  the  superficial  be- 
lief that  the  increased  depth  of  water  was  due  entirely  to  the  inter- 
position of  Providence,  submitted  without  a  struggle  to  the  in- 
vaders.    Koxinga's  son  was  sent  to  Peking,  where  the  emperor 


66  CHINA 

1678-1688 

varied  the  usual  practice  of  decapitation  by  creating-  him  a  duke, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  lavished  honors  on  the  victors  in  the  fray. 

The  wide  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  and  the  number  of 
peoples  who  are  actually,  or  theoretically,  subject  to  Peking,  en- 
force on  the  country  an  almost  chronic  state  of  war.  On  the  north 
and  west  the  empire  is  bounded  by  mountain  ranges  which  are 
inhabited  by  hardy  and  warlike  tribes,  to  whom  the  empire's  diffi- 
culty is  their  opportunity.  And  thus  it  was  not,  probably,  a  sur- 
prise to  K'anghsi  to  receive  news  of  hostilities  on  his  northern 
frontier,  while  yet  he  was  crowning  with  laurels  the  generals  who 
had  vanquished  Wu  Sankwei,  and  had  recovered  Formosa.  It  had 
always  been  difficult  to  trace  the  beginning  of  the  many  tribal  wars 
outside  the  northern  marches,  and  Central  Asia  had  been  so  long 
and  completely  shrouded  from  observance  that,  at  this  time,  little 
was  known  at  Peking  of  the  progress  of  events  beyond  the  Great 
Wall.  The  first  intimation  which  reached  K'anghsi  that  mischief 
was  brewing  was  the  irruption  across  the  frontier  of  bodies  of 
Khalka  Tartars  into  Chinese  territory.  These  men  brought  news 
that  the  Eleuths,  a  Kalmuck  tribe  occupying  a  territory  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Hi,  had  declared  war  against  their  countrymen, 
who,  as  they  took  pains  to  remind  K'anghsi,  owned  allegiance  to 
China.  This  was  practically  a  declaration  of  war  against  the  Mid- 
dle Kingdom,  but  Galdan,  the  chief  of  the  Eleuths,  was  not  un- 
naturally anxious  to  enjoy  the  advantage  of  peace  with  China  while 
he  fought  with  his  Tartar  neighbors.  He  therefore  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  Peking,  who  reached  the  capital  just  at  the  time  when  Wu 
Sankwei's  rebellion  was  absorbing  K'anghsi's  attention.  So  dis- 
astrous at  this  crisis  appeared  to  be  the  state  of  the  empire  that  the 
envoys  were  induced  to  suppose  and  to  expect,  that,  as  had  been 
the  case  in  many  other  royal  lines,  the  Ch'ing  Dynasty  was  totter- 
ing to  its  fall.  Galdan  therefore  carried  on  his  invasion  of  the 
Khalka  country  free  from  any  dread  of  reprisals  from  the  suzerain 
state. 

At  this  juncture  a  new  power  appeared  on  the  banks  of  the 
Amur  River.  With  that  steady  step  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
Russians,  they  had  been  gradually  extending  their  frontier  east- 
ward, and  had  erected  fortifications  and  entrenchments  at  Albazin 
on  the  upper  course  of  the  Amur.  Galdan  recognizing  the  su- 
perior weapons  and  organization  of  the  Europeans,  offered  them 
an  alliance  which  he  was  quick  witted  enough  to  see  would  impart 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  67 

1688-1689 

Strength  to  his  ambitious  designs  against  China.  Rumors  of  these 
intrigues  having  reached  Peking,  K'anghsi  dispatched  envoys  to 
the  Khalka  country,  and  sent  with  them  the  two  Jesuit  mission- 
aries, Gerbillon  and  Pereira.  These  men  had  won  the  confidence 
of  the  emperor  by  their  straightforward  conduct  and  scientific 
knowledge,  and  had  secured  his  gratitude  by,  on  one  occasion, 
curing  him  of  a  severe  attack  of  fever  by  the  use  of  quinine.  They 
possessed  also  the  unusual  qualification  of  a  knowledge  of  both 
his  Mongolian  and  Russian  languages. 

The  accounts  which  these  envoys  brought  back  made  it  plain 
to  K'anghsi  that  if  he  was  to  maintain  his  hold  over  the  Khalka 
country,  and  check  the  advance  of  the  Russians,  who  showed  a  de- 
cided tendency  to  encroach  on  the  fertile  lands  south  of  the  Amur 
River,  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  send  a  force  to  overawe  the 
Tartars  and  to  drive  the  European  invaders  across  the  frontier. 
It  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  Russians  felt  themselves  secure 
from  an  attack  in  a  region  so  remote  from  Peking,  and  doubtless 
their  surprise  was  great  when  they  found  a  Chinese  army  advanc- 
ing against  them.  Though  behind  entrenchments  and  in  posses- 
sion of  superior  weapons,  they  were  unable  to  withstand  the  attack 
of  K'anghsi's  hordes.  Their  fortifications  were  demolished,  and 
those  of  the  garrison  who  survived  were  taken  prisoners  and  were 
marched  to  Peking,  where  a  small  quarter  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  city  was  appropriated  to  their  use.  The  descendants  of  these 
men,  who  for  the  most  part  married  Chinese  wives  and  settled  down 
as  citizens  of  the  capital,  still  occupy  the  same  streets  and  houses 
as  their  ancestors  did  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  even  now 
among  them  a  European  type  of  face  is  sometimes  to  be  noticed, 
though  the  large  mixture  of  Chinese  blood  which  must  necessarily 
run  through  their  veins  may  well  have  obliterated  all  traces  of  their 
Caucasian  origin.  The  ruin  which  had  overtaken  Albazin  did  not, 
however,  prevent  the  Russians  from  again  occupying  the  disman- 
tled forts  and  entrenchments  of  that  town.  So  long  as  the  country 
was  disturbed  by  war's  alarms,  Pere  Gerbillon  and  Pere  Pereira 
had  no  opportunity  of  opening  negotiations,  but  in  1689  they  suc- 
ceeded in  coming  to  terms  with  the  representative  of  the  Russian 
Government,  and  finally  signed  a  treaty  at  Nerchinsk  on  the  Amur 
by  which  it  was  arranged  that  Russia  should  be  bounded  as  to  her 
ambition  by  the  river  northward,  and  should  cease  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  its  southern  shores.    This  was  the  first  treaty  that  the 


68  CHINA 

1689-1690 

Chinese  ever  concluded  with  a  European  power,  and  was  the  pre- 
cursor of  the  many  conventions  which  have  since  been  concluded 
between  the  two  empires. 

Though  foiled  in  his  endeavor  to  enlist  the  help  of  Russia  in 
his  ambitious  career,  Galdan  yet  felt  himself  strong  enough  to 
renew  his  campaign  single-handed  against  the  Khalkas.  With  a 
certain  amount  of  effrontery  he  complained  that  the  Chinese  had 
accepted  as  subjects  the  Khalkas  who  had  fled  over  the  southern 
frontier  to  escape  from  his  troops.  As  the  Khalkas  were  already 
Chinese  subjects  the  complaint  was  preposterous;  but,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  it  met  with  the  support  of  the  Dalai  Lama  of  Tibet, 
of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  if  his  religious  instincts  were  not 
truer  than  his  political  ideas  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people 
under  him  must  have  been  in  a  parlous  state.  Wisely  K'anghsi 
refused  to  listen  to  this  misguided  prelate,  and  prepared  to  take 
the  field  against  his  northern  enemy.  Meanwhile  Galdan  suffered 
a  defeat  which  was  as  disastrous  as  it  was  unexpected.  While  yet 
a  young  man  he  had,  after  the  by  no  means  uncommon  manner 
of  his  countrymen,  murdered  his  elder  brother,  for  no  other  rea- 
son than  that  the  latter  was  a  bar  to  his  own  succession  to 
the  chieftainship.  The  son  of  the  murdered  man  had,  under  the 
influence  of  K'anghsi,  assumed  the  command  of  a  portion  of  the 
Khalka  territory,  and  between  him  and  his  uncle  there  was,  as  may 
well  be  imagined,  a  deathless  blood  feud.  In  an  engagement  fought 
between  the  forces  of  the  two  relatives  the  son  of  the  murdered 
man  partly  avenged  the  assassination  by  inflicting  a  crushing  de- 
feat on  his  uncle's  troops.  But,  though  discomfited,  Galdan  was 
by  no  means  vanquished,  and  gained  respect  among  his  compeers 
by  an  act  which  in  Western  countries  would  be  deemed  infamous. 
K'anghsi  had  sent  envoys  to  Galdan  in  the  vain  hope  that  even  yet 
further  hostilities  might  be  averted.  These  men  Galdan  arrested, 
and  held  as  hostages  for  the  peaceable  action  of  the  Chinese.  So 
soon  as  the  news  of  this  outrage  reached  Peking,  K'anghsi  re- 
signed all  thoughts  of  peace,  and  marched  three  armies  against  the 
recalcitrant  Mongol.  After  an  arduous  march  through  the  dreary 
wastes  which  separate  China  proper  from  the  Mongolian  pastures 
the  imperial  armies  faced  their  enemy  at  Wulanputang.  After  the 
manner  of  his  kind,  Galdan,  seeing  the  immense  forces  with  which 
he  had  to  contend,  attempted  to  avoid  the  impending  evil  by  open- 
ing negotiations;  but   K'anghsi,   rating  these   overtures  at   their 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  69 

1690-1695 

proper  value,  answered  him  by  marching  to  the  attack.  By  a  most 
mistaken  strategy  Galdan  surrounded  his  men  by  a  huge  defense 
composed  of  countless  camels,  and  awaited  the  onslaught.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  in  Wu  Sankwei's  campaign  against  the  Bur- 
mese the  Burmans  made  the  mistake  of  placing  their  elephants  in 
the  front  rank,  with  the  result  that  when  tortured  by  the  Manchu 
arrows  the  huge  monsters  turned  and  ran  among  the  ranks  of  their 
masters,  throwing  them  into  hopeless  confusion.  A  similar  fate 
overtook  Galdan's  troops.  The  fire  from  the  Chinese  guns  so 
frightened  the  camels  that  they  trampled  through  the  Mongol  sol- 
diers, and  left  them  an  easy  prey  to  their  enemies.  It  often  hap- 
pens in  Eastern  warfare  that  an  incompetent  general  fails  to  reap 
the  full  results  of  victory  by  not  following  up  his  defeated  foes, 
and  on  this  occasion  the  want  of  warlike  energy  displayed  by  the 
Chinese  gave  a  new  lease  of  life  to  Galdan.  Illness  had  made 
the  return  of  K'anghsi  to  Peking  absolutely  necessary,  and  his 
generals,  deprived  of  his  wisdom  and  energy,  instead  of  pursuing 
the  shattered  forces  of  the  enemy,  withdrew  their  troops,  and  al- 
lowed Galdan  to  reorganize  his  broken  forces. 

For  a  time  political  and  military  matters  remained  in  a  state 
of  suspended  animation.  War,  however,  was  in  the  air,  and  while 
yet  a  sort  of  armed  truce  was  existing  Galdan  committed  an  act  of 
profligate  wrong  which  precipitated  action.  K'anghsi,  desiring 
to  be  in  touch  with  passing  events  in  Central  Asia,  had  sent  en- 
voys to  Galdan's  nephew,  the  Khalka  chief.  On  their  way  to  the 
Khalka  capital  these  emissaries  were  attacked,  robbed,  and  mur- 
dered by  Galdan's  troops.  Such  an  act  in  Western  countries  would 
place  the  doer  beyond  the  pale  of  civilization.  But  in  Asia  events 
of  the  kind  are  not  so  uncommon  as  to  arouse  unusual  indignation. 
K'anghsi,  however,  waxed  wroth  at  the  outrage;  but  still  being 
unwilling  to  make  reconciliation  impossible,  he  wrote  the  offender 
a  letter,  in  which,  with  a  certain  magnanimity,  he  gave  him  room  for 
repentance.  "  I  learn  that,  nowithstanding  your  oaths,"  he  wrote, 
"  you  and  Tsi  Wang  Rabdan  cannot  live  at  peace  with  one  another ; 
the  instant  I  was  informed  of  your  disagreements  I  took  steps  to 
remove  them.  I  sent  one  of  the  officers  of  my  tribunal  to  be  the 
bearer  of  words  of  peace,  and  your  people,  like  mere  savages,  have 
committed  the  inhuman  act  of  massacring  him.  .  .  .  What 
ought  I  to  think  of  conduct  which  proclaims  you  false  to  both  your 
oath  and  your  allegiance?    I  now  finally  desire  to  warn  you  that 


70  CHINA 

1695-1696 

unless  your  repentance  follows  close  upon  your  fault  I  shall  come 
with  arms  in  my  hands  to  exact  from  you  the  fullest  reparation  for 
these  outrages." 

But  though  K'anghsi  was  placable,  Galdan,  with  all  the  rest- 
less combativeness  of  a  tribal  leader,  threw  peace  to  the  winds  and 
prepared  for  war.  To  strengthen  his  position  he  sought  for  alli- 
ance among  the  neighboring  Mongol  tribes,  and  even  went  the 
length  of  becoming  a  Mohammedan  in  the  hope  that  by  so  doing 
he  might  the  more  readily  enlist  the  sympathies  of  the  followers  of 
the  Prophet.  Distinctive  faiths  sit  lightly  on  Orientals,  and,  though 
in  earlier  life  he  had  visited  Lhasa,  and  had  formed  a  close  alliance 
with  the  Dalai  Lama,  he  now  found  no  difficulty  in  professing  to 
accept  the  Koran  as  his  guide  to  heaven. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  these  intrigues  reached  Peking, 
K'anghsi  set  his  battalions  in  array,  and  appointed  General  Fei 
commander  in  chief  (1695-1696).  Circumstances  had  invested 
this  campaign  with  peculiar  importance,  and  to  infuse  enthusiasm 
into  his  army  and  officers  K'anghsi  held  a  high  court  ceremony 
at  Peking  which  was  intended  to  be  as  inspiriting  as  it  was  im- 
pressive. Surrounded  by  all  the  gorgeous  trappings  of  the  East, 
and,  above  all,  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  officers  of  all  ranks  from 
the  commander  in  chief  down  to  the  youngest  subaltern — 

"  Aloft  in  awful  state 
The  god-like  hero  sat 
On  his  imperial  throne." 

So  soon  as  the  pageant  was  complete  General  Fei  advanced  and 
knelt  before  his  sovereign,  who,  with  his  own  hands,  presented  him 
with  a  cup  of  wine,  which  the  warrior  drank  as  a  pledge  of  his 
loyalty,  and  as  an  omen  of  future  success.  In  due  accordance  with 
their  ranks,  the  other  officers  partook  of  a  similar  honor,  and  from 
the  presence  of  their  emperor  marched  to  the  head  of  their  regi- 
ments. Upward  of  thirty  thousand  men  followed  Fei's  banners, 
and  these  had  scarcely  left  the  capital  when  K'anghsi  put  into  the 
field  two  more  hosts  of  equal  number,  of  one  of  which  he  took  the 
command  in  person.  Before  leaving  his  capital  he  presented  him- 
self before  his  god  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  and  there,  in  the 
center  of  the  highest  of  the  terraces  which  beautify  those  splendid 
precincts,  he  offered  up  a  propitiatory  prayer  to  Shangti,  the  su- 
preme deity.    "  Receive  my  homage,"  he  prayed,  "  and  protect  the 


RISE    OF    THE     MANCHUS  71 

1696-1697 

humblest  of  your  subjects,  Sovereign  Heaven,  Supreme  Ruler! 
With  confidence  but  respect  I  invoke  your  aid  in  the  war  that  I  find 
myself  compelled  to  undertake.  You  have  already  showered 
favors  upon  me.  ...  I  admit  in  silence  and  respect  your 
benefits.  .  .  .  My  most  ardent  desire  has  ever  been  to  see  the 
peoples  of  my  empire,  and  even  foreign  nations,  enjoy  all  the 
advantages  of  peace.  Galdan  destroys  my  dearest  hopes;  he  sows 
disorder  everywhere;  he  tramples  underfoot  your  laws,  and  de- 
spises the  commands  of  his  Sovereign  who  holds  your  place  here 
on  earth;  he  is  both  the  most  false  and  the  most  wicked  of  men. 
.  .  .  I  hold  from  you  the  right  to  make  war  upon  the  wicked. 
In  order  to  fulfill  this  duty  I  am  about  to  march  at  the  head  of 
my  troops.  Prostrate  before  you,  I  implore  your  support,  and  I 
offer  up  his  sacrifice  animated  with  the  hope  of  drawing  down  upon 
myself  some  of  your  most  marked  favors.  But  one  vow  I  most 
resolutely  formed,  and  that  is  to  bestow  the  blessing  of  peace 
throughout  the  vast  territory  over  which  you  have  placed  me." 

The  sought-for  blessing  was  granted  in  full  measure.  As  the 
Chinese  armies  approached  Galdan's  lairs  he  retreated  before  them, 
possibly  in  the  hope  that,  like  Napoleon's  army  before  the  retiring 
Russians,  they  would  be  reduced  to  defeat  by  cold  and  starvation. 
At  last,  however,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  give  battle,  and  victory 
was  still  hanging  in  the  balance,  when,  by  an  ingenious  though 
inhuman  artifice,  Fei  turned  the  scales  in  his  favor.  He  noticed 
that  on  a  neighboring  height  a  large  crowd  of  apparently  non- 
combatants  stood  watching  the  fight.  Rightly  assuming  that  these 
were  the  women  and  children  of  Galdan's  soldiers,  he  opened  a 
heavy  fire  upon  them.  The  result  was  exactly  that  which  he  had 
anticipated.  The  Mongols,  seeing  their  wives  and  children  mowed 
down  by  the  Chinese  fire,  broke  their  ranks  and  rushed  to  their 
protection.  With  well-directed  energy  Fei  charged  into  the  dis- 
ordered host,  and  after  a  short  struggle  gained  a  complete  and 
crushing  victory,  Galdan  escaped  from  the  field,  but  his  career 
was  over,  and  while  yet  the  Chinese  troops  were  preparing  to  follow 
in  pursuit  the  news  was  brought  in  of  his  death.  Toward  the  mem- 
ory of  the  arch-traitor  K'anghsi  showed  no  consideration.  He 
demanded  the  remains  of  his  foe  as  well  as  the  surrender  of  his 
son  and  daughter.  With  these  pledges  of  his  victory  he  returned 
to  Peking.  What  dishonor  was  placed  upon  the  bones  of  Galdan 
we  are  not  told,  but  with  rare  generosity  the  Son  of  Heaven  gave 


72  CHINA 

1697-1722 

official  rank  to  the  son  and  an  honorable  marriage  to  the  daughter. 
As  the  spoil  of  conquest  he  divided  the  territory  lately  ruled  over 
by  Galdan  between  himself  and  Tsi  Wang,  giving  to  this  chieftain 
all  the  country  to  the  west  of  the  Altai  Range,  and  keeping  the 
eastern  districts  in  his  own  hands. 

The  benevolent  desire  for  peace  expressed  by  K'anghsi  at  the 
Temple  of  Heaven  was,  however,  denied  fulfillment,  and  the  Chi- 
nese armies  had  scarcely  returned  to  Peking  when  Tsi  Wang,  wax- 
ing fat  with  conquests,  developed  all  the  restless  proclivities  of  his 
late  uncle.  On  the  plea  of  giving  a  safe  escort  to  his  daughter, 
who  was  betrothed  to  a  Tibetan  grandee,  he  marched  with  six 
thousand  men  against  Lhasa.  With  little  or  no  opposition  he  pre- 
sented himself  before  the  walls  of  that  city,  and,  having  taken  it, 
delivered  it  up  to  the  predatory  instincts  of  his  followers.  This 
raid  was  an  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war  against  China,  Tibet 
being  a  dependency  of  that  empire.  For  the  third  time,  therefore, 
K'anghsi  sent  an  army  into  Mongolia,  and,  though  the  campaign 
was  long  protracted,  it  ended  in  victory  to  his  banners,  and  in 
the  annihilation  of  Tsi  Wang's  forces.  This  much-wished-for 
consummation  was  reached  in  the  year  1721,  when  K'anghsi  cele- 
brated his  diamond  jubilee  on  the  completion  of  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  reign,  and  formed  a  fitting  climax  to  the  gorgeous  pageant 
with  which  that  far-famed  occasion  was  commemorated. 

Not  long  after  this  manifestation  of  popular  rejoicing,  and 
before  the  enthusiasm  of  his  subjects  had  died  away,  the  great 
emperor  who  had  ruled  his  vast  possessions  for  more  than  sixty 
years  became  a  guest  on  high  in  1722.  His  illness  was  short, 
lasting  only  thirteen  days,  but  was  long  enough  to  enable  him  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  administration  of  future  affairs,  and  to 
appoint  his  fourth  son,  Yung  Cheng,  to  succeed  him  on  the  throne. 
Few  emperors  have  ruled  the  destinies  of  China  as  successfully  as 
K'anghsi.  He  loved  justice,  and  aimed  at  doing  what  appeared 
right  in  his  eyes.  He  was  learned  in  all  the  knowledge  of  his 
countrymen,  and  was  a  munificent  patron  of  literature.  He  was 
himself  an  author,  and  his  numerous  writings  both  in  prose  and 
verse  filled  many  portly  volumes.  Two  works  which  were  com- 
piled at  his  instigation  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  make  his  name 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  Chinese  literature.  The  splendid  dic- 
tionary of  the  language,  which  is  known  as  "  K'anghsi's  Diction- 
ary," is  a  monumental  work,  and  was  compiled  at  the  order  of  the 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  73 

1661-1722 

emperor  by  a  commission  of  scholars  especially  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  It  has  ever  since  been  recognized  as  the  standard  dic- 
tionary of  the  language,  and  in  the  ordinary  editions  fills  thirty-six 
volumes.  The  other,  which  owes  its  initiative  to  him,  is  the  huge 
encyclopedia  known  as  the  "  Ch'inting  t'ushu  chi  ch'eng,"  which 
issued  from  the  press  in  five  thousand  and  twenty  volumes.  The 
subjects  included  in  this  publication  are  divided  into  thirty-two 
grand  categories,  with  countless  subdivisions,  each  of  which  is 
illustrated  by  quotations  from  works  of  authority,  arranged  in 
chronological  order,  so  that  the  student  has  placed  before  him  in 
due  succession  the  opinions  of  every  native  scholar  of  weight  on 
the  subject  of  his  study.  But  K'angshi  was  also  the  author  of  the 
"  Sixteen  Maxims  "  which  form  part  of  the  initial  studies  of  every 
Chinese  boy.  These  maxims  were  annotated  and  enlarged  upon  by 
his  son  and  successor,  Yungcheng,  who  considered  himself  at 
liberty,  in  the  case  of  one  maxim  at  least,  to  give  a  bias  to 
K'anghsi's  words,  which  probably  was  never  intended  by  their 
author.  "  Avoid  strange  sects  in  order  to  exalt  orthodox  doc- 
trines," wrote  K'anghsi,  and  among  these  "  strange  sects  "  Yung- 
cheng chose  to  include  Roman  Catholicism,  and  further  warned  his 
subjects  to  have  no  relations  with  the  followers  of  the  "  Lord  of 
Heaven,"  adding,  for  the  information  of  the  people,  that  the  mis- 
sionaries attached  to  the  court  at  Peking  owed  their  position  en- 
tirely to  their  very  useful  knowledge  of  mathematics. 

The  support  and  favor  accorded  to  the  missionaries  during 
the  lifetime  of  K'anghsi,  makes  it  improbable  that  he  would  have 
warned  his  people  so  pointedly  against  them,  unless,  indeed,  he 
may  have  penned  the  words  when  vexed  and  perplexed  by  the 
unseemly  quarrels  which  broke  out  in  their  ranks.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  after  the  death  of  Ricci  the  arrival  of  Dominican 
and  Franciscan  missionaries  gave  rise  to  acute  disputes  and  dissen- 
sions, the  new  arrivals  considering  that  the  earlier  Jesuits  had  car- 
ried their  principle  of  being  tactful  with  all  men  to  an  extent  which 
bordered  on  sacrilege.  This  cleavage  between  the  Jesuits  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans  on  the  other  was 
to  a  great  extent  national  as  well  as  religious,  the  Portuguese  rep- 
resenting the  Jesuits  and  the  French  and  Italians  their  detractors. 
For  some  years  the  question  between  them  took  no  public  shape,  but 
in  1645  ^  reference  was  made  to  the  Propaganda,  which  was 
answered  by  a  decree  of  Innocent  X.     One  of  the  main  questions 


74  CHINA 

1661-1722 

put  in  this  reference  was  "  whether,  in  regard  to  the  frailty  of  the 
people,  it  could  be  tolerated,  for  the  present,  that  Christian  magis- 
trates should  carry  a  cross  hidden  under  the  flowers  which  were 
presented  at  the  heathen  altars,  and  secretly  worship  that,  while 
they  were  in  outward  form  and  appearance  worshiping  the  idol." 
The  answer  was  a  direct  negative,  as  it  was  also  to  the  inquiry 
whether  the  presence  of  Christians  in  the  temples  of  the  idols,  and 
their  attendance  at  the  worship  and  sacrifices,  were  to  be  sanctioned. 

Though  disappointed,  the  Jesuits  were  not  crushed,  and  at  a 
later  date  a  second  reference  was  made  to  the  Propaganda,  which 
met  with  a  different  response.  The  congregation  under  Alexander 
VII.  upheld  the  views  of  the  Jesuits  on  the  matter  in  dispute. 
They  drew  a  distinction  between  the  political  and  religious  rites 
of  the  people,  and  included  among  the  former  the  worship  of  an- 
cestors ;  and  added  "  that  Chinese  converts  should  be  permitted  to 
perform  the  ceremonies  toward  the  dead  even  with  the  uncon- 
verted, superstitious  objects  alone  being  prohibited;  that  they  may 
also  assist  in  their  worship  when  they  are  performing  supersti- 
tious rites,  having  protested  their  faith,  and  not  being  in  peril  of 
subversion,  and  when  otherwise  they  could  not  avoid  hatred  and 
enmities." 

The  arrival  in  China  of  Bishop  Maigrot  added  a  new  element 
of  discord  to  the  already  divided  bodies  of  missionaries.  The 
bishop  was  a  man  with  strong  views,  and  though,  as  events  proved, 
no  match  for  the  Jesuits,  he  was  yet  one  who  could  express  him- 
self with  force.  In  a  decree  which  he  issued  on  the  questions  in 
dispute,  he  forbade  the  use  of  the  expressions  "  T'ien "  and 
"  Shangti "  for  God,  and  ordered  that  the  Deity  should  always  be 
spoken  of  as  "  T'ien  Chu,"  or  "  Lord  of  Heaven,"  the  term  uni- 
versally used  among  Roman  Catholics.  He  condemned  the  ques- 
tions proposed  to  Alexander  VII.  as  not  having  been  truthfully 
set  forth,  and  he  prohibited  missionaries  from  being  present  at  the 
festivals  or  sacrifices  connected  with  heathen  worship.  K'anghsi, 
who  still  showed  symptoms  of  being  under  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuits,  took  umbrage  at  the  appearance  of  this  declaration,  and 
summoned  the  bishop  to  an  audience  in  the  wilds  of  Tartary, 
whither  he  had  gone  on  a  hunting  expedition.  The  bishop's  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  was  slight,  and  of  the  language  little  or  nothing. 
These  imperfections  were  eagerly  taken  advantage  of  by  the  em- 
peror, who,  after  the  interview,  thus  wrote  of  his  guest :   "  I  have 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  76 

1661-1722 

ordered  Bishop  Maigrot  to  come  hither,  that  I  might  examine  him. 
He  knows  a  little  Chinese,  but  cannot  speak  so  as  to  be  understood, 
he  is  consequently  obliged  to  have  an  interpreter.  Not  only  does 
he  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  books,  but  is  even  ignorant 
of  the  characters.  A  native  who  should  show  such  ignorance  would 
not  dare  to  speak  in  public,  and  if  he  did  so  would  move  his  hearers 
to  laughter.  Not  understanding  the  sense  of  the  books,  he  is  not 
in  a  position  to  say  what  they  contain,  as  he  professes  to  do." 

The  inference  thus  drawn  by  the  emperor,  that  the  bishop's 
ignorance  of  the  language  rendered  him  incapable  of  forming  a 
right  judgment  on  the  subject  of  the  term  for  God,  had  consid- 
erable force.  In  the  imperial  mind,  also,  it  was  presumption  on 
his  part  to  offer  an  opinion  on  the  question,  inasmuch  as  the  em- 
peror had  traced  with  his  vermilion  pencil  a  statement  to  the  effect 
that  T'ien  was  understood  by  the  Chinese  to  be  both  the  material 
Heaven  and  the  Supreme  God.  These  differences  in  China  were 
reflected  at  Rome,  and  in  the  exercise  of  his  wisdom  Clement  XI. 
appointed  a  legate  to  proceed  to  China  to  settle  the  differences  be- 
tween the  contending  missionaries.  This  appointment  was  a  rock 
of  offense  to  K'anghsi,  who  was  annoyed  at  the  idea  of  a  visitor 
being  appointed  when  he,  the  emperor,  was  there  to  superintend 
the  conduct  of  the  fathers.  He,  however,  granted  the  legate, 
Charles  Maillard  de  Toumon,  an  interview,  and  treated  him  with 
marked  courtesy.  During  the  audience  Pereira,  who  was  in  at- 
tendance on  the  emperor,  showed  by  a  variety  of  approving  ges- 
tures that  the  emperor's  address  had  been  dictated  by  himself,  and 
that  the  entire  scene  had  been  got  up  rather  as  an  exhibition  of  the 
influence  of  the  father  than  as  a  complimentary  recognition  of  the 
Pope  or  of  his  representative. 

The  legate  soon  found  out  that  the  friendly  expressions  used 
by  K'anghsi  at  this  interview  were  merely  complimentary,  and  that 
an  occult  influence  was  being  exercised  against  him.  The  em- 
peror had  promised  him  a  house  at  Peking,  and  had  prepared  com- 
plimentary gifts  for  presentation  to  the  Pope,  but  on  one  excuse 
or  another  the  house  was  never  conveyed  and  the  gifts  were  never 
sent.  The  religious  difficulties  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  produc- 
tive of  much  mischief  and  dissension,  but  a  further  matter  was 
destined  to  emphasize  the  quarrel.  It  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  legate  that  the  Jesuits  were  in  the  habit  of  lending  money  to 
the  natives  at  a  rate  of  interest  which  in  Europe  would  be  consid- 


76  CHINA 

1661-1722 

ered  usurious,  but  which  in  China  was  less  than  the  extreme  legal 
rate.  The  Jesuits  considered  that  they  were  moderate  in  charging 
twenty-four  per  cent.,  when  native  money-lenders  were  entitled  to 
receive  thirty-six,  and  from  the  source  thus  temperately  utilized, 
it  was  affirmed  that  the  three  Jesuit  houses  at  the  capital  derived 
an  annual  income  of  180,000  taels.  But  this  profit  was  "  nothing 
in  comparison  with  that  which  they  drew  from  the  commerce  in 
manufactures,  wines,  clocks,  and  on  other  industries,  by  which 
these  fathers  amassed  enormous  treasures,  which  rendered  them 
richer  in  the  Indies  than  the  King  of  Portugal."  These  statements 
induced  the  legate  to  take  a  strong  step.  He  issued  a  solemn  decree 
denouncing  this  practice  of  the  Jesuits  as  being  unworthy  of  Chris- 
tians, and  ordered  them  to  suppress  and  annul  all  dealings  of 
the  kind. 

An  incident  which  occurred  immediately  on  the  promulgation 
of  this  decree  led  to  a  serious  suspicion  being  entertained  against 
the  Jesuit  fathers.  After  a  solitary  repast  consisting  of  a  stewed 
pigeon  served  up  with  broth  and  bread  sauce,  the  legate  was  seized 
with  a  sudden  and  dangerous  illness,  which  bore  some  resemblance 
to  the  effects  of  poison.  So  strained  were  the  relations  between 
the  two  sides  in  the  controversy  that  the  friends  of  the  legate  did 
not  hesitate  to  express  their  belief  that  the  fathers  had  attempted 
to  rid  themselves  of  the  visitor  by  violent  means.  But  whether  this 
suspicion  was  well  or  ill  founded,  certain  it  is  that  the  quarrel  from 
this  time  became  bitterly  intensified.  It  is  always  easy  to  find 
Orientals  ready  and  willing  to  bring  charges  against  unpopular 
personages.  The  tide  was  now  running  against  the  legate,  Bishop 
Maigrot,  and  their  friends.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  China- 
men should  lay  indictments  against  them,  and  that,  with  consider- 
able worldly  wisdom,  the  disregard  shown  to  the  decision  of  the 
emperor  with  reference  to  the  term  for  God,  should  be  placed  in  the 
forefront  of  the  indictment.  For  this  misdemeanor  Bishop  Maig- 
rot and  his  allies  were  summoned  to  Peking,  and  after  the  form  of 
a  trial  judgment  was  pronounced  against  them  by  the  emperor 
in  person.  The  bishop  and  others  were  sentenced  to  be  exiled 
from  the  empire  as  turbulent  and  disorderly  men.  No  European 
was  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  China  unless  he  had  letters  patent 
from  his  imperial  majesty,  and  all  coming  after  that  date  were  to 
present  themselves  at  Peking  and  to  apply  for  the  said  letters. 

The  legate  felt  now  that  nothing  he  could  say  or  do  would 


RISE    OF     THE     MANCHUS  77 

1661-1722 

mitigate  either  the  wrath  of  the  emperor  or  the  enmity  of  the 
Jesuits.  He  therefore  felt  moved  to  issue  a  decree  enjoining  all 
the  missionaries  who  should  present  themselves  at  Peking  "  to  give 
a  distinct  negative  on  all  the  questions  which  formed  the  imperial 
test,  to  abjure  all  the  rights  and  observances  which  the  Chinese 
law  enjoined,  .  .  .  and  to  declare  the  incompatibility  of  all 
these  doctrines  and  practices  with  the  Christian  law."  Irritated  by 
this  opposition  to  his  will  and  decisions  K'anghsi  sent  two  Jesuits 
to  Rome  to  represent  to  the  Pope  the  unfortunate  position  to  which 
the  quarrels  of  the  missionaries  had  reduced  the  affairs  of  the  mis- 
sion. Meanwhile,  he  banished  the  legate  to  Macao,  there  to  await 
the  return  of  the  envoys.  On  arriving  at  his  destination  De  Tour- 
non  was  virtually  put  under  arrest.  His  house  was  surrounded  by 
a  guard  of  soldiers,  who  allowed  no  one  to  pass  except  those  who 
carried  the  authorization  of  the  Portuguese  governor.  Even  food 
was  admitted  with  difficulty,  and  his  condition  was  aggravated  by 
mental  anxiety  as  to  the  result  of  the  emperor's  reference  to  Rome. 
Under  this  cruel  persecution  his  health  broke  down,  and  in  1710 
death  released  him  from  the  ill-will  of  his  enemies.  That  the 
Jesuits  conferred  great  advantages  on  the  Chinese  it  cannot  be 
denied.  As  engineers,  architects,  and  surveyors  they  did  much 
useful  work,  and  by  the  books  which  they  translated  they  opened 
a  door  for  the  admittance  of  Western  learning  into  the  schools  of 
the  country.  Gerbillon  and  Bouvet  translated  Euclid  and  other 
mathematical  works,  Thomas  taught  the  people  algebra,  Brocart 
instructed  them  in  the  arts,  and  Pereira  in  music.  Men  learned  in 
all  the  knowledge  of  the  West  gave  up  home  and  country  for  the 
good  of  the  people ;  while  scientists  of  the  first  rank  thought  it  not 
degrading  to  mend  clocks  and  make  musical  boxes  for  the  emperor 
and  his  mandarins.  But  to  the  cause  of  religion  the  dissensions 
raised  by  their  zeal  did  infinite  harm,  and  exposed  the  fathers  to 
the  taunt  of  K'anghsi,  that  instead  of  propagating  the  faith  in 
China,  they  were  ruining  it. 


Chapter   IV 

THE   REIGNS   OF  YUNGCHENG  AND   CH'IENLUNG. 

1722-1796 

THE  son  to  whom  the  imperial  purple  had  descended  was 
the  fourth  among  K'anghsi's  numerous  progeny.  He 
was  a  man  of  fine  bearing  and  good  abilities.  As  his 
father  said  of  him,  "  Yungcheng  is  a  man  of  rare  and  precious 
character,"  and,  with  perhaps  pardonable  pride,  he  added,  "  he  has 
a  great  resemblance  to  myself."  The  new  emperor  was  forty- 
four  years  of  age  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  and  his  first  care 
was  to  remove  beyond  the  reach  of  temptation  those  of  his  brothers 
whom  he  considered  to  be  politically  dangerous.  The  fourteenth 
prince,  who  at  this  time  held  a  command  in  Central  Asia,  was  first 
attacked,  as  being  the  most  prominent  possible  aspirant  to  the 
throne.  He  was  therefore  ordered  to  Peking,  where,  with  his  son, 
he  was  imprisoned  in  the  garden  of  "  Perpetual  Spring."  On  other 
princes  various  kinds  of  repression  were  exercised,  and  one  was 
banished  to  Hsining  on  the  western  frontier,  where  he,  together 
with  his  brothers,  embraced  Christianity.  The  conversion  of  these 
banished  members  of  his  family  added  fuel  to  Yungcheng's  wrath 
against  them,  and  resulted  in  a  sentence  of  perpetual  banishment  on 
all  members  of  that  section  of  the  imperial  clan. 

The  new  emperor's  attitude  toward  Christianity  chimed  in 
so  naturally  with  the  feelings  of  the  Literati  that  it  was  plain  that 
the  new  faith  had  fallen  on  evil  days.  A  largely  and  influentially 
signed  memorial  was  presented  to  the  emperor,  calling  upon  him 
to  banish  all  foreign  priests  from  the  empire,  and  to  permit  the 
conversion  of  their  churches  to  other  and  "  better  "  uses.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  usual  practice  this  memorial  was  referred  to  the 
board  of  rites,  who  recommended  that  all  missionaries  except  those 
in  the  service  of  the  emperor  should  be  sent  to  Macao,  and  should 
be  forbidden,  on  pain  of  death,  to  make  any  attempt  to  proselytize. 
As  a  result  of  the  measures  thus  recommended  and  approved,  up- 

78 


YUNGCHENG    AND    CH'IENLUNG         79 

1722-1727 

ward  of  three  hundred  churches  were  destroyed,  and  over  three 
hundred  thousand  converts  were  left  spiritual  orphans. 

The  political  horizon  meanwhile  was  no  clearer  than  the  re- 
ligious one.  The  Mongols,  who  had  kept  K'anghsi  in  a  perpetual 
state  of  warfare,  again  gave  evidence  of  their  turbulent  disposition, 
and  a  formidable  rebellion  broke  out  in  the  district  of  Chinghai. 
The  duty  of  suppressing  this  revolt  was  intrusted  to  General 
Nien,  who  so  well  played  his  part  that  the  rebels  were  severely 
punished  and  offered  their  submission,  pleading  with  every  ap- 
pearance of  sincerity  to  be  allowed  once  more  to  live  under  the 
benign  rule  of  the  emperor.  For  this  service  Nien  was  made  a 
duke,  and  was  feted  by  Yungcheng  on  his  return  to  Peking.  On 
the  occasion  of  this  feast  Nien's  officers  were  entertained  in  the 
outer  courtyard  of  the  palace,  while  he  alone  was  admitted  into  the 
imperial  presence.  Intoxicated  by  their  success,  his  officers,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  feast,  so  far  forgot  their  respect  for  their  sur- 
roundings as  to  become  riotous  in  their  cups.  The  emperor  re- 
peatedly sent  out  to  enjoin  silence,  and,  on  his  orders  being  disre- 
garded, his  guest,  jealous  of  the  credit  of  his  men,  blew  the  whistle 
with  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  guide  his  troops  to  victory 
on  the  fields  of  battle.  The  effect  was  instantaneous.  The  riot 
ceased  as  by  magic,  and  not  a  voice  was  heard.  Yungcheng  was 
greatly  alarmed  at  this  evidence  of  the  influence  which  Nien  had 
acquired  over  his  staff,  and  seeing  that  where  he  was  impotent 
Nien  was  all  powerful,  he  felt  that  the  existence  of  so  strong  a 
leader  might  constitute  a  danger  to  the  state.  It  is  possible,  also, 
that  the  consciousness  of  his  might  may  have  made  Nien  self-as- 
serting in  the  presence  of  his  sovereign.  At  all  events  the  decree 
went  forth  that  he  was  to  be  crushed;  and  instantly  memorials 
were  presented  to  the  throne  accusing  the  successful  general  of  not 
having  even  been  in  Chinghai,  the  reported  scene  of  his  triumphs, 
but  of  having  amused  himself  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  field 
where  his  soldiers  were  facing  the  enemy.  It  was  further  roundly 
asserted  that  he  had  adopted  the  emblems  and  insignia  of  royalty; 
that  he  had  worn  robes  which  none  other  than  the  emperor  should 
wear;  and  that  he  had  ordered  the  streets  of  towns  and  cities 
through  which  he  had  passed  to  be  cleared  before  him.  Bribery 
and  corruption  on  a  gigantic  scale  were  also  laid  to  his  charge, 
and  the  man  who  was  yesterday  an  all-powerful  general  was  next 
day  cast  into  prison,  and  after  a  brief  trial  was  sentenced  to  be 


80  CHINA 

1727-1730 

sliced  to  pieces.  Humanity,  however,  induced  the  emperor  to  miti- 
gate this  barbarous  sentence,  and  the  fallen  victim  was  allowed  by 
imperial  clemency  to  strangle  himself  in  his  prison  cell. 

All  this  time  the  tide  had  been  flowing  steadily  against  the 
Christians,  and  even  the  arrival  of  foreign  embassies,  instead  of 
giving  them  a  much-needed  support,  gained  for  them  nothing  but 
disaster.  In  1727  Count  Sava  Vladislavitche  arrived  at  Peking 
at  the  head  of  a  mission  from  the  czar,  and  was  especially  deputed 
to  arrange  with  the  Chinese  court  a  revision  of  the  Treaty  of 
Nerchinsk.  Two  events  made  this  mission  noticeable.  One  was 
the  fact  that  it  served  to  establish  a  permanent  Russian  footing  in 
Peking  in  the  persons,  firstly  of  a  number  of  youths  who  were 
destined  by  their  imperial  master  for  the  study  of  Chinese;  and 
secondly,  of  persons  of  authority  over  the  students  on  whom  were 
conferred  certain  plenipotentiary  powers,  which  enabled  them  when 
occasion  required  to  act  as  diplomatic  agents  at  the  Chinese  capital. 
The  other  was  an  incident  which  occurred  when  Count  Sava  pre- 
sented his  credentials.  Up  to  this  time  all  foreigners  to  whom 
imperial  audiences  had  been  granted  had  been  bidden  to  deposit 
their  credentials  on  a  table  placed  in  front  of  the  emperor.  Deem- 
ing this  form  to  be  derogatory.  Count  Sava  overlooked  the  table 
and  placed  the  documents  in  the  hands  of  his  Majesty.  A  little 
later  in  the  course  of  the  same  year  a  Portuguese  mission  arrived 
at  Peking,  and  Don  Metello  Souza  y  Menzes,  the  envoy,  having 
heard  of  the  action  of  his  Russian  colleague,  and  desiring  to  emu- 
late it,  informed  the  court  officials  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  place 
a  table  in  front  of  his  Majesty  as  he  intended  to  hand  his  creden- 
tials to  him  in  propia  persona.  At  this  avowal  the  court  digni- 
taries were  much  disturbed,  and  accused  the  Jesuits,  who  had  in- 
terpreted for  Count  Sava,  of  having  prompted  the  Portuguese  to 
follow  his  example.  The  emperor,  however,  took  a  more  reason- 
able view  of  the  question,  and  gave  Don  Metello  Souza  permission 
to  follow  the  course  which  he  proposed. 

In  the  difficulties  which  these  and  other  circumstances  had 
brought  upon  them,  the  Jesuits  deemed  it  wise  to  ask  leave  to  ap- 
pear by  deputation  before  the  emperor.  Their  request  was  granted, 
but  without  listening  to  their  representations  his  Majesty  addressed 
them  in  a  speech  especially  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  which  at 
least  displayed  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  missionaries  and  their 
doings.    "  The  late  emperor  my  father,"  he  said,  "  after  having  in- 


YUNGCHENG    AND     CH'IENLUNG         81 

1727-1730 

structed  me  during  forty  years,  chose  me  ...  to  succeed  him 
on  the  throne.  I  make  it  one  of  my  first  objects  to  imitate  him,  and 
to  depart  in  nothing  from  his  manner  of  government.  .  .  . 
You  tell  me  that  your  law  is  not  a  false  one.  I  believe  you;  if  I 
thought  that  it  was  false  what  would  prevent  me  from  destroying 
your  churches  and  from  driving  you  out  of  the  country?  .  .  . 
But  what  would  you  say  if  I  were  to  send  a  troop  of  bonzes  and 
lamas  into  your  country  in  order  to  preach  their  doctrines?  How 
would  you  receive  them?  .  .  .  You  wish  that  all  the  Chinese 
should  become  Christians,  and  indeed  your  creed  commands  it.  I 
am  well  aware  of  this,  but  in  that  event  what  would  become  of 
us?  Should  we  not  soon  be  merely  the  subjects  of  your  kings? 
The  converts  you  have  made  already  recognize  nobody  but  you, 
and  in  a  time  of  trouble  they  would  listen  to  no  other  voice  but 
yours.  ...  I  permit  you  to  reside  here,  and  at  Canton,  so 
long  as  you  give  no  cause  for  complaint ;  but  if  any  should  arise,  I 
will  not  allow  you  to  remain  here  or  at  Canton.  I  will  have  none 
of  you  in  the  provinces.  The  emperor  my  father  suffered  much 
in  reputation  among  the  Literati  by  the  condescension  with  which 
he  allowed  you  to  establish  yourselves.  .  .  .  Do  not  imagine, 
in  conclusion,  that  I  have  nothing  against  you,  or  on  the  other 
hand  that  I  wish  to  oppress  you.  .  .  .  My  sole  care  is  to 
govern  the  empire  well." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  speech  the  emperor  dwelt  espe- 
cially on  those  points  which  have  ever  since  formed  the  bones  of 
contention  between  the  missionaries  and  the  ruling  powers  in 
China.  It  is  beyond  question  that  the  missionaries,  in  their  right- 
eous zeal,  have  often  unduly  interfered  on  behalf  of  their  converts 
in  the  native  courts.  This  applies  to  both  Roman  Catholics  and 
Protestants,  though  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
fathers  have  insisted  on  protecting  the  interests  and  rights  of  their 
converts  in  a  more  open  and  vigorous  manner  than  their  Protestant 
brethren  have  ever  attempted. 

There  is  a  natural  disposition  in  men  who  are  persecuted  for 
their  religion's  sake  to  regard  any  misfortunes  which  happen  to 
overtake  their  persecutors  as  being  specially  designed  by  Heaven 
to  avenge  their  wrongs.  Deprived  of  their  political  privileges,  and 
of  the  court  favor  in  which  they  had  so  long  basked,  the  Jesuits 
found  some  consolation  in  the  indulgence  of  this  weakness  of  hu- 
manity.   And  truth  to  tell,  they  had  many  occasions  for  the  grati- 


82  CHINA 

1730-1735 

fication  of  this  consoling  reflection.  Pestilence,  floods,  and  earth- 
quakes dogged  the  steps  of  the  repressive  emperor.  Death  was 
rife  within  the  palace,  whole  districts  in  the  northern  portion  of 
the  empire  were  flooded  by  the  bursting  of  the  banks  of  "  China's 
Sorrow,"  the  Yellow  River,  and,  as  if  to  emphasize  the  special 
iniquity  of  the  imperial  court,  Peking  was  shaken  to  its  very  founda- 
tions by  an  earthquake  in  1730,  which  is  said  to  have  destroyed 
upward  of  a  hundred  thousand  people,  while  Providence,  which 
seems  to  have  been  guided  by  the  same  instinct  which  directed  the 
allies  when  they  destroyed  the  Palace  of  Yuan-ming-yuan  in  i860, 
caused  the  earthquake  to  inflict  overwhelming  havoc  on  the  same 
imperial  buildings.  About  the  same  time  riots  broke  out  at  Canton, 
and  the  whole  empire  appeared  to  be  tottering  on  the  verge  of  a 
catastrophe. 

In  China,  as  in  England  and  the  United  States,  there  has 
always  been  a  party  advocating  withdrawal  from  conquests  beyond 
the  national  frontier.  K'anghsi  and  later  again  Ch'ienlung  with 
truer  insight  had  seen  that  the  only  way  of  establishing  peace  on 
the  Mongolian  frontier  was  to  overawe  that  indestructible  element 
of  disloyalty  and  violence  which  had  always  to  be  reckoned  with 
when  Mongols  were  concerned.  Yungcheng,  however,  failed  to 
realize  this,  and,  accepting  the  advice  of  his  councilors,  withdrew 
his  army  from  beyond  the  northern  frontier.  Happily  for  the 
empire  but  a  short  time  was  allowed  for  the  ill  effects  of  this 
experiment  to  develop  themselves,  for  on  October  7,  1735,  the  stroke 
of  fate  fell  upon  the  emperor.  Early  in  the  day  he  had  granted  the 
usual  audiences,  and  was  almost  immediately  afterw^ard  seized 
with  a  sudden  illness  which  ended  his  career  on  the  same  evening. 
Yungcheng  was  not  a  popular  sovereign,  although  he  possessed  that 
quality  which  is  more  highly  esteemed  than  any  other  by  the 
Chinese:  the  love  of  literature.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer,  but 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  throughout  all  his  works  there  is  notice- 
able a  strong  anti-foreign  feeling,  which  is  happily  wanting  in  the 
writings  of  both  his  predecessor  and  successor.  His  death  was  so 
sudden  that  he  was  unable  to  nominate  his  heir,  and,  as  is  usual 
in  such  cases,  his  eldest  son,  who  adopted  the  title  of  Ch'ienlung, 
ascended  the  throne. 

Ch'ienlung  succeeded  his  father  at  the  age  of  twenty-five, 
and  with  an  engaging  modesty  which  is  unusual  in  the  case  of 
"  Sons  of  Heaven,"  he  appointed  four  regents  to  guide  and  direct 


YUNGCHENG     AND     CH'IENLUNG         83 

1735-1746 

his  faltering  steps  in  the  administration  of  the  empire.  His  first 
exercise  of  imperial  power  was  in  the  direction  of  that  quality  which 
blesses  those  who  give  and  those  who  take.  He  released  the 
brothers  of  his  late  father  from  the  confinement  to  which  Yung- 
cheng  in  his  jealous  fear  had  consigned  them,  and  opened  the 
prison  doors  to  many  casual  offenders.  The  founder  of  the  dynasty 
had  divided  the  members  of  his  family  into  two  branches,  dis- 
tinguished by  the  color  of  their  girdles  or  belts.  To  himself  and 
his  direct  heirs  he  reserved  the  use  of  the  yellow  girdle,  while  the 
collateral  branches  were  entitled  only  to  wear  one  of  a  red  color. 
The  princes  who  had  fallen  under  the  displeasure  of  Yungcheng 
had  been  deprived  at  their  fall  of  their  right  to  either  of  these  dis- 
tinctions, but  the  restoration  to  favor  accorded  them  by  Ch'ienlung 
restored  to  them  the  privilege  of  again  wearing  the  girdle  of  their 
great  ancestor. 

The  missionaries  were  not  so  fortunate  as  these  scions  of  the 
imperial  race,  since,  though  Ch'ienlung  at  that  time  showed  no 
personal  animus  against  them,  the  regents  to  a  man  were  their 
bitter  opponents.  At  the  instigation  of  these  potentates  an  edict 
was  issued  forbidding  the  missionaries  to  propagate  their  faith, 
and  directing  them  to  prosecute  with  all  humbleness  the  mechanical 
callings  in  which  they  had  shown  themselves  proficient.  The  prov- 
ince of  Fuhkien  has  always  been  a  troublesome  one  so  far  as  for- 
eigners are  concerned.  Some  of  the  greatest  outrages  that  the 
Jesuits  had  to  submit  to  occurred  in  this  province,  and  a  long  series 
of  enormities  has  since  been  perpetrated  within  the  district,  ending 
in  the  last  wholesale  murder  of  English  missionaries  in  1895. 
In  1746  persecutions  of  a  particularly  savage  nature  broke  out  in 
Fuhkien.  Several  Spanish  missionaries  were  imprisoned  and  tor- 
tured, while  those  who  attempted  to  shield  them  from  their  enemies 
were  strangled  in  spite  of  the  intercession  of  the  Jesuits  at  Peking. 
The  unhappy  prisoners  were  only  released  from  their  miseries  by 
the  sword  of  the  executioner. 

Meanwhile  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  southwestern  China  and 
spread  to  the  provinces  of  Hunan  and  Kwangsi.  As  has  so  often 
happened  in  Chinese  campaigns,  the  generals  who  had  been  in- 
trusted with  the  suppression  of  this  revolt  had  so  mismanaged  mat- 
ters that  the  imperial  troops  could  make  no  headway  against  the 
rebels.  The  Chinese  have  a  rough-and-ready  way  of  dealing  with 
men,  who,  either  from  their  own  fault  or  by  some  mischance,  are 


84 


CHINA 


1735-1745 


unlucky  enough  to  meet  with  disaster.  A  short  shrift  and  a  sharp 
sword  is  commonly  their  fate,  unless  the  prisoner  should  happen 
to  be  personally  in  high  favor,  when  a  silken  cord  is  sent  to  him. 
In  this  case  such  a  lot  was  meted  out  to  the  unsuccessful  leaders,  and 
a  certain  General  Chang  Kwang  was  appointed  in  their  place. 
The  new  general  justified  his  appointment.  In  a  short  time  he 
subjugated  the  rebels  and  pacified  the  disturbed  districts.    If  we  are 


to  believe  the  native  historians  we  must  accept  the  facts  that  he 
slaughtered  in  the  field  eighteen  thousand  of  the  enemy,  and  sent 
to  execution  almost  as  many  prisoners.  Shortly  afterward  an 
insurrection  broke  out  in  the  province  of  Szech'uan,  and  Chang 
Kwang  again  took  the  field.  But  success  no  longer  waited  on  his 
footsteps.  He  was  surrounded  by  the  enemy's  spies,  so  that  the 
words  which  he  spake  in  his  bedchamber  were  told  to  the  chiefs 
of  the  rebels.  In  this  way  all  his  plans  were  forestalled,  and  to 
him  was  decreed  a  like  fate  to  that  which  had  overtaken  the  generals 


YUNGCHENG    AND     CH'IENLUNG         85 

1735-1745 

whom  he  had  superseded.  His  successor,  General  Fu,  was  more 
successful,  and  recovered  the  revolted  province  to  his  master's  rule. 
The  tender  mercies  of  Chinese  victors  are  almost  invariably  cruel, 
and  Ch'ienlung  was  in  no  melting  mood  when  the  captured  rebel 
chief  and  his  family  were  brought  before  him.  Following  the  tra- 
ditional usage  adopted  toward  hardened  rebels,  he  passed  sentence 
of  Lingeh'ih  ^  upon  them  all,  with  the  exception  of  one  little  girl, 
who  was  transferred  to  the  palace. 

For  the  first  ten  years  of  Chi'enlung's  reign  the  chieftain 
Tsening  had  ruled  over  the  Mongols  in  peace  and  quiet.  His  death, 
however,  in  1745  let  loose  all  the  elements  of  violence  which  he 
had  hitherto  been  able  to  hold  in  check.  After  some  disturbance 
and  many  acts  of  violence,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  late  chieftain, 
Dardsha  by  name,  assumed  the  reins  of  power,  but  his  supremacy 
was  not  long  left  undisputed.  A  restless  relative  named  Davatsi, 
with  an  ally  as  truculent  as  himself  in  the  person  of  Amursana,  a 
neighboring  chief,  took  the  field  against  him.  The  fortunes  of  war 
are  always  uncertain,  and  in  border  warfare  they  can  seldom  be 
counted  on  with  surety.  In  this  instance  success  passed  now  to  one 
side  and  now  to  the  other  with  perplexing  fickleness.  To  follow 
the  fortunes  of  each  army  would  be  as  difficult  as  it  would  be  un- 
profitable, but  in  the  end  Dardsha  was  defeated  and  slain,  leaving 
to  the  allies  the  possession  of  his  territory.  "  When  thieves  fall 
out  honest  men  come  to  their  dues,"  and  in  this  case  the  quarrel 
which  sprung  up  between  the  two  allies  resulted  eventually  in 
Ch'ienlung  recovering  the  possessions  which  his  father  had  so 
weakly  receded  from.  The  war  which  raged  between  the  two 
usurpers  ended  in  the  defeat  of  Amursana,  who  fled  to  Peking 
desiring  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  Ch'ienlung  on  his  behalf.  The 
fugitive  was  received  with  honor  and  an  army  was  sent  to  chastise 
Davatsi.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign  Amursana  was  left 
in  the  recovered  territory  as  the  representative  of  Ch'ienlung,  but 
with  the  consistent  faithlessness  of  a  Mongol,  he  no  sooner  found 
himself  in  the  possession  of  an  inch  of  power  than  he  took  an  ell. 

The  news  of  his  unauthorized  assumption  of  monarchical 
rights  having  reached  Ch'ienlung's  ears,  the  deputy  was  ordered  to 
Peking  to  answer  for  his  conduct.  His  reply  was  in  keeping  with 
his  character.    He  put  to  the  sword  the  small  Chinese  garrison  left 

1  The  "  lingering  process "  or  punishment  by  slicing  to  death.    Usually  in- 
flicted on  parricides. 


86  CHINA 

1745-1759 

with  him,  and  prepared  for  war.  Nor  had  he  long  to  wait.  Ch'ieh- 
lung  at  once  mustered  his  battalions  and  issued  a  manifesto  to  the 
empire  explaining  the  call  to  arms.  In  his  document  he  said 
with  pardonable  pride :  "  My  empire  is  larger  than  any  in  the 
world ;  it  is  more  populous ;  it  is  richer.  My  coffers  overflow  with 
silver,  and  my  granaries  are  full  of  all  kinds  of  provisions."  After 
this  exordium  he  explained  the  cause  of  the  quarrel,  and  justified 
to  his  entire  satisfaction  the  course  which  he  was  about  to  take. 
For  Amursana's  treachery  he  had  no  words  of  condemnation  strong 
enough,  and  as  for  the  archtraitor  himself,  he  was  to  be  regarded 
"  as  a  wolf  "  which  flies  at  the  approach  of  an  enemy  and  has  to 
be  hunted  down  as  vermin.  Strict  orders  were  given  that  the 
rebel  was  to  be  brought  to  Peking  dead  or  alive,  and  Generals  Chao 
Huei  and  Fu  were  commissioned  to  lead  their  troops  to  the  attack. 
Ch'ienlung's  description  of  the  rebel's  tactics  was  true  to  the  letter. 
Amursana  instinctively  avoided  general  engagements,  and,  when 
worsted  in  skirmishes,  rode  off  with  as  many  of  his  men  as  could 
follow  him  to  fresh  woods  and  pastures  new.  General  Fu,  who  was 
specially  deputed  to  follow  on  his  tracks,  hunted  him  down  with 
ceaseless  pertinacity.  Eventually,  deserted  by  his  followers  and 
discredited  as  a  chieftain,  Amursana  fled  for  refuge  to  Russian 
territory  and  implored  the  protection  of  the  czar.  Here  he  was 
safe  from  his  human  pursuers,  but  unconsciously  he  had  walked 
into  the  jaws  of  death.  A  violent  epidemic  of  smallpox  was 
desolating  the  country  at  the  time,  and  to  that  dreadful  disease 
he  speedily  fell  a  victim.  On  receiving  the  news  of  his  death 
General  Fu  demanded  his  body,  that  Ch'ienlung  might  have  the 
gratification  of  gazing  on  the  remains  of  his  adversary.  To  this 
the  Russians  very  naturally  declined  to  accede,  but  invited  Fu  to 
send  messengers  to  identify  the  features  of  the  rebel. 

The  brilliant  success  which  had  attended  the  Chinese  generals 
left  them  dissatisfied  so  long  as  eastern  Turkistan  remained  as  a 
possible  hotbed  of  discontent  on  their  western  frontier.  Chao, 
therefore,  determined  to  move  against  Kashgar  and  Yarkand,  and 
in  the  first  instance  dispatched  a  certain  General  Ma  at  the  head 
of  the  invading  force.  Ma  blundered  in  the  execution  of  his 
task,  and  met  with  more  than  one  serious  reverse.  As  we  have 
seen,  there  is  only  one  rule  in  China  for  the  treatment  of  un- 
successful generals.  In  this  case  it  was  not  departed  from,  and 
Ma  being  beheaded,  Chao  took  the  matter  into  his  own  hands.    The 


1745-1759 


YUNGCHENG  AND  CH'IENLUNG 


87 


impetus  given  to  the  campaign  by  his  skill  and  energy  was  such 
that  before  long  he  was  able  to  report  to  his  sovereign  the  capture 
of  both  the  objects  of  his  attack.  The  prestige  thus  acquired  by 
the  Chinese  arms  so  impressed  the  ruler  of  Khokand  that  he  im- 
mediately made  his  submission  to  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  an  ex- 
ample which  was  followed  by  several  of  the  neighboring  chiefs. 
As  the  victors  entered  the  city  of  Kashgar  the  inhabitants,  as  we 
learn  by  a  letter  from  General  Chao  to  Ch'ienlung  in  1759,  sur- 
rendered with  every  demonstration  of  joy.  They  lavished  refresh- 
ments on  the  troops  and  covered  the  generals  with  honor.  As 
the  procession  advanced  the  people  threw  themselves  on  their  knees 
and  cried  aloud,  "  Long  live  the  great  emperor  of  China  1 " 

Having  established  some  form  of  administration  in  the  con- 
quered provinces,  Chao  and  Fu  returned  to  Peking  to  receive  the 
rewards  of  their  services.  As  they  approached  the  capital  Ch'ien- 
lung went  out  half  a  day's  journey  to  meet  them,  and  graciously 
placed  palaces  within  the  city  at  their  disposal.  Chao  was  raised 
to  the  highest  rank  of  nobility,  and  Fu  to  that  of  the  next  grade. 
Chao,  who  was  already  advanced  in  years,  remained  at  Peking  until 
his  death,  resting  on  his  laurels,  and  eventually  died  in  the  odor 
of  court  favor.  It  is  said  that  after  his  decease  the  emperor 
visited  him  and  in  support  of  a  strange  fiction  directed  that  the 
dead  man  should  be  seated  in  a  chair  as  though  still  alive.  "  I  com- 
mand you  to  remain  as  you  are,"  said  the  monarch.  "  I  come  to 
see  you  for  the  purpose  of  exhorting  you  to  leave  nothing  undone 
towards  the  reestablishment  of  your  health.  A  man  like  you 
is  still  necessary  to  the  empire." 

But  though  war's  alarms  were  frequent  during  the  reign  of 
Ch'ienlung  peaceful  celebrations  were  mingled  with  the  echoes  of 
distant  strife.  Nearer  home  the  prosperity  of  the  country  advanced 
by  leaps  and  by  bounds,  and  the  favor  of  Heaven  was  reflected  in 
the  well-being  of  the  imperial  family.  An  interesting  ceremony 
took  place  in  the  year  1752  when  the  dowager  empress  attained 
her  sixtieth  year.  The  whole  route  from  Yuan-ming-yuan,  some 
seven  miles  from  Peking,  to  the  imperial  palace  within  the  city 
walls,  was  made  one  long  festive  pageant,  while  the  sides  of  the 
road  were  lined  with  extempore  pavilions  and  theaters,  where 
musicians  and  actors  did  their  utmost  to  add  harmony  and  amuse- 
ment to  the  scene.  It  had  been  originally  intended  that  the  imperial 
cortege  should  have  been  carried  in  barges  along  the  course  of  the 


88  CHINA 

1745-1759 

river  to  the  city  walls,  and  though  the  season  was  winter,  when  in 
the  ordinary  course  everything  is  hard  bound  with  frost,  every 
effort  was  made  to  keep  the  river  open.  But  the  attempt  failed  and 
sleighs  were  substituted.  Within  the  city  walls  the  decorations 
were  even  more  elaborately  planned.  Artificial  mountains  were 
raised  with  Buddhist  temples  and  monasteries  dotting  their  sides, 
arcades  and  restaurants  bordered  the  streets,  while  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  imperial  party  children  dressed  as  monkeys  climbed 
artificial  trees  and  gathered  with  a  variety  of  grimace  every  kind 
of  artificial  fruit.  At  other  places  gigantic  pears  and  apples  opened 
at  intervals  displaying  children  in  their  hollow  interiors.  Never 
was  there  a  more  gorgeous  scene,  but  it  was  robbed  of  more  than 
half  its  value  and  significance  by  the  law  which  obliges,  on  such 
occasions,  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  to  remain  indoors 
with  closed  shutters  to  prevent  their  gazing  on  the  dragon  coun- 
tenance. Like  Louis  IL  of  Bavaria,  who  was  wont  to  form  the 
solitary  spectator  of  theatrical  performances  in  the  royal  theater 
in  Munich,  the  emperors  of  China  are  accustomed  to  traverse  the 
streets  of  their  capital  unseen  by  those  who  have  prepared  for  their 
delight  the  decorations  of  the  streets  and  buildings. 

As  interludes  between  the  higher  duties  of  state,  the  artistic 
labors  of  the  Jesuits,  Castiglione  and  Attiret,  formed  an  endless 
source  of  interest  and  amusement  to  the  emperor,  and  he  was 
even  induced  by  the  excellence  of  their  painting  to  honor  Attiret 
by  sitting  for  his  portrait.  So  delighted  was  he  with  the  result 
that  he  was  minded  to  confer  on  the  artist  the  high  distinction  of 
a  mandarin's  button.  This  honor,  however,  Attiret  declined  with 
many  expressions  of  gratitude,  but  he  and  others  continued  to 
devote  themselves  to  amusing  and  astonishing  the  emperor  by  all 
kinds  of  mechanical  contrivances  without  reward  or  recompense. 
In  the  construction  of  one  piece  of  mechanism  they  surpassed 
themselves.  With  much  elaborate  and  ornate  detail  they  con- 
structed a  clock  representing  a  courtyard,  from  the  pavilion  in 
which,  at  the  stroke  of  the  hour,  the  figure  of  a  mandarin  advanced 
carrying  a  banner  bearing  the  words,  "  Long  live  the  emperor ! " 
As  the  automaton  bowed  low,  four  attendants  appeared  who,  with 
short  batons,  beat  out  a  chime  representing  the  particular  time 
of  the  day.  The  Chinese  have  always  had  a  taste  for  this  kind  of 
mechanical  contrivance,  and  when  the  allies  took  possession  of 
the  Summer  Palace  in  i860  a  number  of  clocks  of  a  construction 


YUNGCHENG     AND     CH'IENLUNG         89 

1771 

similar  to  that  just  described  were  found  among  the  imperial 
treasures. 

At  this  time  Ch'ienlung  may  be  said  to  have  reached  the 
zenith  of  his  power,  and  to  have  extended  his  fame  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Asia.  A  notable  instance  of  the  confidence 
which  was  reposed  in  his  rule  is  afforded  by  one  of  the  strangest 
migrations  which  even  the  East  with  its  manifold  caprices  has 
ever  witnessed.  While  the  tribes  on  the  Mongol  frontier  had  been 
in  a  state  of  ferment  the  Tourgots,  under  the  leadership  of  their 
chief  Ayuka,  fled  from  the  ever-recurring  turmoil  across  the  steppes 
of  the  Kirghez  into  Russian  territory.  At  first  their  sudden  in- 
cursion caused  the  governor  of  Orenburg  some  alarm,  but  on 
becoming  better  informed  as  to  its  cause  and  object,  he  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  wanderers  a  fertile  territory  lying  between 
the  Volga  and  the  Yaik.  Here  they  remained,  pursuing  their 
avocations  for  half  a  century,  not  without  some  provocation  from 
their  new  government,  but  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  tranquillity  which, 
compared  with  their  former  harassed  existence,  was  as  a  haven  of 
rest.  It  is  true  that  the  Russian  drill  sergeants  decimated  their 
young  men  for  the  service  of  the  czar,  and  that  taxes  were  levied 
upon  them  such  as  in  their  more  primitive  state  of  society  had  been 
entirely  unknown.  But  these  were  grievances  to  which,  so  long 
as  their  former  habitat  remained  the  scene  of  constant  strife,  they 
were  content  to  submit.  After  the  defeat  and  death  of  Amursana, 
however,  and  the  complete  pacification  of  the  districts  over  which 
he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  raiding,  the  Tourgots  turned  their 
eyes  toward  the  lands  where  they  had  originally  dwelt,  and  desired 
to  offer  their  submission  to  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  who  had  been 
instrumental  in  producing  order  out  of  chaos.  Having  satisfied 
themselves  that  their  reappearance  within  the  Chinese  frontier 
would  be  welcomed  as  a  return  to  their  fold,  they  made  preparation 
in  all  secrecy  for  their  return  march  across  the  dreary  deserts  of 
central  Asia.  Early  in  1771  the  Tourgot  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, to  the  number  of  600,000,  started  on  their  ill-starred  journey 
in  the  direction  of  their  ancient  home. 

The  choice  of  winter  for  this  great  adventure  was  directed  by 
the  fact  that  their  settlements  were  situated  on  both  sides  of  the 
River  Volga,  and  that  it  was  thus  necessary  to  wait  until  a  frozen 
surface  should  afford  a  means  by  which  the  western  portion  might 
at  any  moment  join  their  confreres  on  the  eastern  shore.    Absolute 


go  CHINA 

1771 

secrecy  was  observed  by  the  khan  and  his  colleagues  as  to  their 
intentions,  and  the  ignorance  of  the  Russian  Government  on  the 
point  was  preserved  and  heightened  by  the  apparent  zeal  with  which 
the  Tourgots  offered  themselves  for  military  service  under  the 
banners  of  the  czaritza  in  the  war  in  which  the  empire  was  engaged 
against  the  Turk.  It  was  proposed  by  the  khan  and  his  con- 
federates that  on  a  signal  being  given,  the  settlers  should  set  fire 
to  their  dwellings  and  crops,  and,  if  possible,  include  in  the  con- 
flagration the  neighboring  Russian  cities  and  villages. 

When  the  momentous  day  arrived,  and  the  signal  was  given, 
the  western  settlers,  alarmed  by  the  presence  of  Russian  troopers, 
who  were,  by  a  strange  accident,  in  their  neighborhood,  refused  to 
move,  and  by  this  coincidence  not  only  were  the  Russian  riverine 
towns  saved  from  destruction,  but  the  amount  of  misery  entailed 
by  the  march  was  lessened  by  one-half.  As  one  person,  the  men, 
women,  and  children  dwelling  on  the  eastern  bank  moved  east- 
ward at  the.  bidding  of  the  khan.  The  first  stage  of  three  hundred 
miles  was  covered  in  seven  days  with  the  aid  of  horses  and  camels. 
But  already  the  Cossacks  were  following  at  the  heels  of  the  fugi- 
tives, and  one  division  of  the  huge  crowd  of  wanderers  was  cut 
to  pieces  by  these  merciless  pursuers.  Harassed  by  their  enemies 
and  tortured  by  famine,  thirst,  and  disease,  the  Tourgots,  in  spite 
of  every  obstacle,  pushed  on  toward  their  goal.  For  eight  months 
they  marched  through  the  steppes  and  deserts  of  Asia,  and  the 
small  remnant  were  rejoiced  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  reenter  the 
Chinese  frontier  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Tengis.  To  this 
point  Ch'ienlung  had  dispatched  a  force  of  cavalry  to  receive  the 
wanderers,  of  whose  approach  he  had  been  apprised.  One  morn- 
ing the  Celestial  troopers  "  reached  the  summit  of  a  road  which 
led  through  a  cradle-like  dip  in  the  mountains  right  down  upon 
the  margin  of  the  lake.  From  this  pass,  elevated  about  two 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water,  they  continued  to 
descend,  by  a  very  winding  and  difficult  road,  for  an  hour  and  a 
half;  and  during  the  whole  of  this  descent  they  were  compelled  to 
be  inactive  spectators  of  the  fiendish  spectacle  below.  The  Kal- 
mucks (Tourgots),  reduced  by  this  time  from  about  six  hundred 
thousand  souls  to  two  hundred  thousand,  and  after  enduring  the 
miseries  we  have  previously  described — outrageous  heat,  famine, 
and  the  destroying  scimiter  of  the  Kirghizes  and  the  Bashkirs — 
had  for  the  last  ten  days  been  traversing  a  hideous  desert,  where 


YUNGCHENG    AND     CH'IENLUNG         91 

1771 

no  vestiges  were  seen  of  vegetation  and  no  drop  of  water  could 
be  found.  Camels  and  men  were  already  so  overladen  that  it 
was  a  mere  impossibility  that  they  should  carry  a  tolerable  suf- 
ficiency for  the  passage  of  this  frightful  wilderness.  On  the  eighth 
day,  the  wretched  daily  allowance,  which  had  been  continually 
diminishing,  failed  entirely ;  and  thus,  for  two  days  of  insupportable 
fatigue,  the  horrors  of  thirst  had  been  carried  to  the  fiercest  ex- 
tremity. Upon  this  last  morning,  at  the  sight  of  the  hills  and  the 
forest  scenery,  which  announced  to  those  who  acted  as  guides  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Lake  of  Tengis,  all  the  people  rushed  along 
with  maddening  eagerness  to  the  anticipated  solace.  The  day  grew 
hotter  and  hotter,  the  people  more  and  more  exhausted;  and  grad- 
ually in  the  general  rush  forward  to  the  lake,  all  discipline  and 
command  were  lost — all  attempts  to  preserve  a  rearguard  were 
neglected.  The  wild  Bashkirs  rode  in  among  the  encumbered 
people  and  slaughtered  them  wholesale,  and  almost  without  re- 
sistance. Screams  and  tumultuous  shouts  proclaimed  the  progress 
of  the  massacre;  but  none  heeded,  none  halted;  all  alike,  pauper  or 
noble,  continued  to  rush  with  maniacal  haste  to  the  waters — all 
with  faces  blackened  with  the  heat  preying  upon  the  liver  and 
with  tongue  drooping  from  the  mouth.  The  cruel  Bashkir  was 
affected  by  the  same  misery,  and  manifested  the  same  symptoms  of 
his  misery  as  the  wretched  Kalmuck.  The  murderer  was  often- 
times in  the  same  frantic  misery  as  his  murdered  victim.  Many, 
indeed  in  both  nations,  had  become  lunatic  (an  ordinary  effect  of 
thirst)  ;  and,  in  this  state,  while  mere  multitude  and  condensation 
of  bodies  alone  opposed  any  check  to  the  destroying  scimiter  and 
the  trampling  hoof,  the  lake  was  reached;  and  to  that  the  whole 
vast  body  of  enemies  rushed,  and  together  continued  to  rush, 
forgetful  of  all  things  at  that  moment  but  of  one  almighty  instinct. 
This  absorption  of  the  thoughts  in  one  maddening  appetite  lasted 
for  a  single  minute ;  but  in  the  next  arose  the  final  scene  of  parting 
vengeance.  Far  and  wide  the  waters  of  the  solitary  lake  were 
instantly  dyed  red  with  blood  and  gore.  Here  rode  a  party  of 
Ljsavage  Bashkirs,  hewing  off  heads  as  fast  as  the  swaths  fall  before 
'the  mower's  scythe;  there  stood  unarmed  Kalmucks  in  a  death- 
grapple  with  their  detested  foes,  both  up  to  the  middle  in  water, 
and  oftentimes  both  sinking  together  below  the  surface,  from  weak- 
ness or  from  struggles,  and  perishing  in  each  other's  arms.  Did 
the  Bashkirs  at  any  point  collect  in  a  cluster  for  the  sake  of  giving 


92  CHINA 

1771 

impetus  to  the  assault,  thither  were  the  camels  driven  in  fiercely 
by  those  who  rode  them,  generally  women  and  boys ;  and  even  these 
quiet  creatures  were  forced  into  a  share  in  this  carnival  of  murder 
by  trampling  down  as  many  as  they  could  strike  prostrate  with  the 
lash  of  their  forelegs.  Every  moment  the  water  grew  more 
polluted ;  and  yet  every  moment  fresh  myriads  came  up  to  the  lake 
and  rushed  in,  not  able  to  resist  their  frantic  thirst,  and  swallowing 
large  draughts  of  water,  visibly  contaminated  with  the  blood  of 
their  slaughtered  compatriots.  Wheresoever  the  lake  was  shallow 
enough  to  allow  of  men  raising  their  heads  above  the  water,  there, 
for  scores  of  acres,  were  to  be  seen  all  forms  of  ghastly  fear,  of 
agonizing  struggle,  of  spasm,  of  convulsion,  of  mortal  conflict — 
death,  and  the  fear  of  death — revenge,  and  the  lunacy  of  revenge — 
hatred,  and  the  frenzy  of  hatred — ^until  the  neutral  spectators,  of 
whom  there  were  not  a  few,  now  descending  the  eastern  side  of  the 
lake,  at  length  averted  their  eyes  in  horror.  This  horror,  which 
seemed  incapable  of  further  addition  was,  however,  increased  by  an 
unexpected  incident.  The  Bashkirs,  beginning  to  perceive  here 
and  there  the  approach  of  the  Chinese  cavalry,  felt  it  prudent, 
wheresoever  they  were  sufficiently  at  leisure  from  the  passions  of 
the  murderous  scene,  to  gather  into  bodies.  This  was  noticed  by 
the  governor  of  a  small  Chinese  fort  built  upon  an  eminence  above 
the  lake,  and  immediately  he  threw  in  a  broadside  which  spread 
havoc  among  the  Bashkir  tribe.  As  often  as  the  Bashkirs  collected 
into  "  globes  "  and  "  turms  "  as  their  only  means  of  meeting  the  long 
line  of  descending  Chinese  cavalry,  so  often  did  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernor of  the  fort  pour  his  exterminating  broadside,  until  at  length 
the  lake,  at  the  lower  end,  became  one  vast  seething  caldron  of 
human  bloodshed  and  carnage.  The  Chinese  cavalry  had  reached 
the  foot  of  the  hills ;  the  Bashkirs,  attentive  to  their  movements,  had 
formed;  skirmishes  had  been  fought;  and  with  a  quick  sense  that 
the  contest  was  henceforward  rapidly  becoming  hopeless,  the  Bash- 
kirs and  Kirghizes  began  to  retire.  The  pursuit  was  not  as  vigor- 
ous as  the  Kalmuck  hatred  would  have  desired;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  the  very  gloomiest  hatred  could  not  but  find,  in  their  own 
dreadful  experience  of  the  Asiatic  deserts,  and  in  the  certainty  that 
these  wretched  Bashkirs  had  to  repeat  that  same  experience  a  second 
time,  for  thousands  of  miles,  as  the  price  exacted  by  a  retributary 
Providence  for  their  vindictive  cruelty,  not  the  very  gloomiest 
of  the  Kalmucks  or  the  least  reflecting,  but  found  in  all  this  a 


YUNGCHENG    AND     CH'IENLUNG         93 

1768-1771 

retaliatory  chastisement  more  complete  and  absolute  than  any  which 
their  swords  and  lances  could  have  obtained,  or  human  vengeance 
could  have  devised."  ^ 

With  merciful  foresight  Ch'ienlung  provided  food  and  gar- 
ments for  the  wretched  remainder  of  the  wanderers  that  had  reached 
his  frontier.  Lands  were  also  placed  at  their  disposal,  and  on  the 
shores  of  the  lake  a  pillar  was  raised  to  commemorate  the  hardships 
endured,  and  the  engagements  fought  on  this  great  and  notable 
march. 

But  while  peace  and  quiet  were  established  on  the  northern 
frontiers  of  the  empire,  the  relations  with  Burma  had  become 
strained  to  the  point  of  war.  The  histories  do  not  describe  clearly 
the  causes  of  the  rupture  between  the  two  countries.  In  Oriental 
states  there  are  constantly  occurring  causes  of  hostility,  and  the 
probability  is  that  incursions  of  Burmese  marauders  may  have 
taxed  the  patience  of  the  Chinese  to  breaking  point.  But,  however 
that  may  be,  certain  it  is  that  in  1768  Ch'ienlung  ordered  his  troops 
to  take  the  field.  At  first  success  attended  the  Chinese  arms.  The 
Burmese,  who  had  rashly  invaded  the  province  of  Yunnan,  were 
completely  defeated,  and  were  compelled  to  retreat  across  the  fron- 
tier. Flushed  with  victory  the  Chinese  general  followed  in  pursuit, 
and  again  inflicted  defeat  on  the  Burmese  within  their  own  territory. 
But  no  one  who  has  traversed  the  mountain  ranges  which  separate 
western  China  from  Burma  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the 
difficulty  of  getting  provisions  from  China  considerably  hampered 
the  movements  of  the  Celestials.  Meanwhile  the  Burmese  had 
summoned  every  available  man  to  their  standards,  and  had  marched 
with  overwhelming  numbers  against  the  invaders.  Destitute  of 
supplies  and  surrounded  by  the  enemy  the  Chinese  position  was 
desperate.  In  a  moment  of  despair  the  general  ordered  a  sauve 
qui  petit,  and  only  those  few  who  were  not  slain  by  the  victorious 
Burmese  escaped  through  the  mountain  passes  to  China. 

On  receipt  of  the  news  of  this  disaster  Ch'ienlung  ordered 
Generals  Alikun  and  Akwei  to  take  command  of  another  army  to 
avenge  the  defeat.  Again  the  Chinese  troops  crossed  the  dizzy 
heights  which  separate  the  two  empires  and  established  themselves 
in  a  fortified  camp  at  Bhamo.  Starting  from  this  point  d'appui, 
Alikun  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force  marched  toward  the 
capital.  At  his  approach  the  King  of  Burma  lost  heart,  and  though 
possessed  of  forces  which  might  well  have  opposed  successfully  the 
«De  Quincey,  "The  Flight  of  a  Tartar  Tribe." 


94  CHINA 

1771-1792 

advance  of  the  Chinese  troops,  he  proposed  terms  of  peace.  Alikun, 
nothing  loath,  being  in  the  face  of  a  numerically  superior  army,  and 
with  ranges  of  mountains  and  narrow  defiles  in  the  rear,  readily 
agreed  to  discuss  a  treaty  of  alliance.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
as  diplomatists  the  Chinese  are  not  to  be  surpassed,  and  though 
on  the  present  occasion  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  field,  Alikun  suc- 
ceeded in  completely  overreaching  the  Burmese  ministers  in  con- 
clave. By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  which  was  then  signed,  perpetual 
peace  was  proclaimed  between  the  two  empires,  and  the  king  agreed 
to  pay  a  triennial  tribute  to  the  court  of  Peking.  The  tribute  then 
provided  for  was  regularly  paid  up  to  the  time  of  Great  Britain's 
taking  possession  of  Upper  Burma,  and  even  afterward,  for  be- 
lieving in  the  power  of  China,  and  the  importance  of  her  alliance, 
England  agreed  that  the  tribute  should  still  continue  to  be  paid 
by  the  highest  Burmese  authority  in  the  country.  The  leading 
principle  of  British  policy  in  China  since  the  war  of  1842  has  been 
to  establish  by  every  art  and  form  the  equality  of  its  government 
with  that  of  Peking.  By  this  mistaken  step,  however,  the  English 
became  generally  recognized  as  tributaries  of  China,  and  Lord 
Macartney,  the  first  British  envoy  to  China  in  1792,  was  made  to 
carry  on  the  boat  which  bore  him  to  Peking  a  flag  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  Tribute-Bearers  to  the  Imperial  Court."  Peace  was  no 
sooner  secured  on  the  southwestern  frontier  than  disturbances  broke 
out  among  the  Miaotzu  tribes  on  the  borders  of  Szech'uan.  The 
Miaotzu  are  an  interesting  people,  and  are  the  descendants  of 
one  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  who  inhabited  China  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Chinese.  As  the  primitive  Chinese  settlers  advanced 
over  the  country  and  possessed  themselves  of  the  plains  and 
valleys,  the  aboriginal  tribes  were  driven  to  take  refuge  in  the 
mountain  ranges  of  western  and  southwestern  China.  These  dis- 
possessed tribes  have  never  been  entirely  subdued,  and  the  Chinese 
with  that  tolerance  which  in  some  regard  characterizes  their  gov- 
ernment, have  refrained  from  interfering  with  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  mountaineers,  unless  compelled  to  do  so  by  aggression  on 
their  part.  The  Miaotzii,  who  are  by  nature  joyous  and  independ- 
ent, have  thus  followed  their  own  customs,  and  have  preserved 
their  form  of  civilization  in  entire  independence  of  the  more  cul- 
tured people  by  whom  they  are  surrounded.  In  the  mountain 
valleys  where  they  dwell  they  still  preserve  old-world  customs,  which 
are  found  only  in  the  most  backward  portions  of  the  earth's  surface. 


A   MIAOi/i 


I         !    Mil.M,     A     Mor.NI.MN      IKACK     INTO    THE 
VALLEY   OF    THEIR   HOMES 
Painting  by  W.  Small 


YUNGCHENG     AND     CH'IENLUNG         96 

1771 

That  strange  custom  of  couvade  still  exists  among  them,  and  their 
marriage  customs  carry  us  back  to  the  time  when  the  world  was 
indeed  young.  Small  in  stature  and  badly  armed,  they  can  never 
have  been  a  match  for  Chinese  soldiers ;  but  like  the  Afridis  of  the 
northwest  frontier  of  India,  their  true  strength  lay  in  the  intricate 
and  difficult  nature  of  the  country  which  they  inhabited. 

At  various  times  wars  have  broken  out  between  these  people 
and  their  Chinese  neighbors,  and  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge, 
the  outrages  which  have  led  up  to  these  hostilities  have  as  often 
been  committed  by  one  side  as  the  other.  A  few  skirmishes  on  the 
Szech'uan  frontier  led  on  this  occasion  to  a  war  which  was  intended 
to  be  one  of  extermination.  In  these  engagements  the  Miaotzu 
were  generally  successful,  and  in  ordinary  circumstances  it  may  well 
have  been  that  a  peace  would  have  been  patched  up  between  the 
disputants.  But  Ch'ienlung  had  been  long  fed  on  victory,  and 
his  troops  by  constant  warfare  had  reached  a  high  standard  of 
combativeness  and  efficiency.  He  was  unwilling  therefore  to  sub- 
mit to  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Miao  barbarians,  and  made 
immediate  preparations  for  the  dispatch  of  a  punitive  expedition. 
But  being  ready  to  give  the  rebels  one  more  chance  of  repentance, 
he,  before  sending  an  army  into  the  field,  dispatched  two  envoys 
to  the  rebellious  tribes  bearing  an  imperial  letter  offering  terms  of 
peace.  The  chief,  however,  flushed  with  victory,  and  barbarously 
unmindful  of  the  hospitality  due  to  plenipotentiaries,  murdered  the 
two  envoys,  and  scattered  the  letter  of  peace  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  The  die  was  now  cast,  and  a  strong  force  was  at  once  sent 
to  punish  the  recalcitrant  rebels.  The  chief  command  of  this  army 
was  given  to  General  Wen  Fu,  with  Akwei  and  Feng  Shene  as 
lieutenant-generals.  The  emperor's  orders  were  stringent.  The 
two  fortified  camps  of  the  enemy  were  to  be  captured  at  all  costs 
and  an  iron  heel  was  to  be  placed  on  the  necks  of  the  rebels.  The 
district  over  which  the  army  had  to  deploy  was  mountainous  in  the 
extreme.  The  roads  were  nothing  more  than  mountain  tracks, 
and  except  in  some  places  where  suspension  bridges  crossed  the 
rivers,  passages  across  the  torrents  had  to  be  made  in  skin  boats. 
The  three  generals  at  the  head  of  as  many  separate  forces  con- 
verged by  different  ways  on  the  Golden  River  district.  General 
Wen  Fu,  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  men,  took  the  main  route,  and 
having  arrived  within  striking  distance  of  the  enemy,  fortified 
himself  in  an  entrenched  camp.     Like  many  Chinese  generals,  he 


96  CHINA 

1771 

seems  to  have  been  of  the  opinion  that  the  presence  of  his  master's 
big  battaHons  and  the  sight  of  a  forest  of  flags  would  strike  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  the  hillmen.  But  he  was  mistaken.  He  had  no 
sooner  estabhshed  himself  than  he  was  rudely  awakened  by  a  sudden 
and  furious  onslaught  of  the  enemy.  The  attack  was  so  un- 
expected, and  the  manner  of  warfare  was  so  little  understood  by  the 
Chinese  officers  and  men,  that  hardly  any  show  of  resistance  was 
made,  and  the  invaders  were  cut  down  like  grass  before  the  scythe. 
General  Wen  Fu  was  killed  and  only  a  small  remnant  of  his  force 
succeeded  in  effecting  a  junction  with  the  other  detachments. 

The  news  of  this  disaster  reached  Ch'ienlung  as  he  was  en- 
joying his  ease  at  Jehol,  his  hunting  palace  in  Mongolia.  Without 
a  moment's  delay  he  called  together  a  council,  by  whose  advice 
he  promoted  Akwei  to  the  supreme  command,  and  ordered  him  to 
prosecute  the  war  with  all  dispatch.  Akwei  lost  no  time  in  obeying 
these  orders,  and  after  a  battle  which  lasted  five  days  and  five 
nights,  so  completely  defeated  the  Miaotzu  that  they  came  forward 
with  humble  petitions  for  peace.  Ch'ienlung  would,  however,  make 
no  terms  with  rebels  who  had  so  flagrantly  defied  his  authority,  and 
Akwei  again  pushed  his  advantage  to  the  utmost.  At  last  every 
stronghold  but  one  was  taken,  and  at  this  remaining  fortress  the 
Miaotzu  offered  a  heroic  defense.  So  bravely  did  they  fight  that 
Akwei  with  all  the  force  at  his  command  was  unable  to  capture 
the  place.  Famine,  however,  brought  the  defenders  to  their  knees. 
The  stronghold  was  yielded,  and  the  chief  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren surrendered  to  the  Chinese  general  on  condition  that  their 
lives  should  be  spared.  General  Gordon  had  some  experience  of 
the  value  of  such  a  promise  as  that  made  by  Akwei  on  this  occasion. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Wangs  of  Soochow  surren- 
dered to  Gordon  on  the  express  condition  that  their  lives  should  be 
granted  to  them,  Li  Hung  Chang  treacherously  put  them  to  death. 
In  the  same  way  Ch'ienlung  acted  toward  the  Miaotzu  chief  and 
family.  With  great  pomp  and  circumstance  Akwei  presented  his 
captives  to  the  emperor,  who  in  spite  of  the  plighted  word  of  the 
general,  sentenced  the  chief,  Sonomu,  and  his  family  to  death,  and 
transported  the  men  of  the  garrison  to  Hi,  where  they  were  con- 
demned to  labor  as  military  convicts  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

The  conquest  of  the  Miaotzu  was  one  which  fostered  the 
imperial  vanity  of  Ch'ienlung.  They  were  a  tribe  within  his  own 
frontier,  and  had  never  before  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Chinese 


YUNGCHENG    AND     CH'IENLUNG         97 

1771-1786 

such  crushing  defeats  as  had  now  overtaken  them.  A  dukedom  was 
conferred  on  Akwei,  who  was  further  graced  with  a  yellow  girdle 
to  replace  the  red  one  which  had  hitherto  marked  his  rank,  while 
abundant  honors  were  showered  on  his  subordinates.  For  some 
reason,  which  does  not  plainly  appear,  General  Fu  Te,  who  had 
been  second  in  command,  was  left  out  in  the  cold,  or,  at  least,  con- 
sidered that  he  had  been  so  treated.  He  was  a  rough  soldier,  and 
was  not  accustomed  to  conceal  his  feelings.  The  elevation  of 
Akwei  was,  in  his  eyes,  excessive,  and  he  was  incautious  enough 
to  express  his  views  on  the  subject.  In  the  East  it  is  not  wise  to 
denounce  a  court  favorite  when  in  high  honor,  and  the  friends 
of  Akwei  took  occasion  to  bring  to  light  certain  peccadillos  which 
during  his  career  had  been  committed  by  Fu  Te,  and  which  were 
probably  far  less  important  than  those  which  might  have  been  laid 
to  their  own  charge.  But  the  tide  was  in  their  favor,  and  the 
emperor  sentenced  the  general  to  death.  Fu  Te  had  served  his 
country  well  in  Mongolia  and  in  southwestern  China,  and  had  re- 
ceived signal  instances  of  his  imperial  master's  favor  for  the  skill 
with  which  he  had  seconded  the  efforts  of  Chao  Huei  in  the  paci- 
fication of  the  tribes  in  central  Asia,  and  one  cannot,  therefore,  but 
regret  that  so  stem  a  fate  should  have  overtaken  him.  In  narrat- 
ing the  incidents  connected  with  the  Miaotzu  war,  the  imperial 
chronicler  states  that  the  cost  of  the  expedition  amounted  to 
30,000,000  taels. 

In  an  empire  extending  over  such  a  wide  area  as  that  ruled 
by  Ch'ienlung,  and  in  a  country  where  the  administration  from  its 
decentralized  nature  has  never  been  thoroughly  effective,  it  is  im- 
possible that  there  should  not  be  constant  outbreaks  and  disturbances 
in  the  outlying  districts.  Formosa  has  always  been  a  difficult 
possession.  The  ranges  of  mountains  which  fringe  its  eastern 
shores  form  the  homes  of  savage  tribes  who  have  never  submitted 
to  the  Chinese  yoke;  while  the  Chinese  settlers  on  the  western 
plains  have  acquired  a  rough  and  independent  habit  from  the  lack 
of  all  official  restraint.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Koxinga  found 
a  congenial  refuge  in  its  harbors  from  the  attacks  of  the  Manchus, 
and  it  has  been  at  all  times  an  Alsatia  to  which  the  lawless  and 
the  vagabonds  have  naturally  gravitated.  In  1786  a  local  official 
took  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  arresting  a  man  named 
Lin  on  the  charge  of  disloyalty.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the 
arrest  was  fully  justified.     Lin  was  one  of  those  men  whose  per- 


98  CHINA 

1786-1796 

sonality  was  such  as  enabled  him  to  exercise  a  powerful  influence 
on  his  fellow-men.  By  establishing  a  secret  society  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  many  thousands  of  his  fellow-subjects  to  his 
banners;  and  the  local  mandarin  not  unnaturally  thought  that  if 
he  were  not  quickly  lodged  in  prison  he  might  possibly  seat  himself 
on  the  throne.  But  he  did  not  count  the  cost,  and  the  news  was  no 
sooner  bruited  about  that  Lin  was  a  prisoner  than  his  followers 
rose,  murdered  the  venturesome  mandarin,  and  released  his  prisoner. 
Here  were  undoubtedly  the  makings  of  a  very  pretty  quarrel,  and 
Ch'ienlung  was  not  the  man  to  submit  to  be  browbeaten.  An  army 
was  sent  to  the  scene  of  strife,  but  like  so  many  first  movements 
in  Chinese  campaigns,  the  efforts  of  the  force  were  doomed  to 
complete  failure.  The  troops  had  no  sooner  touched  the  shores 
of  Formosa  than  they  were  attacked  by  Lin's  banditti  and  utterly 
destroyed,  the  general  in  command  saving  himself  only  by  a  hasty 
flight  to  the  mainland.  On  the  receipt  of  this  news  Ch'ienlung, 
after  a  usual  custom,  offered  the  rebels  terms  of  peace.  What  the 
nature  of  these  were  does  not  appear,  but  Lin  made  counter  proposi- 
tions to  those  presented  to  him  by  Ch'ienlung's  envoys.  He  de- 
manded first  of  all  that  the  viceroy  of  Fuhkien,  to  which  the  island 
was  dependent  and  who  had  ordered  cruel  measures  of  repres- 
sion should  be  put  to  death;  that  he  personally  should  not  be 
called  upon  to  present  himself  at  Peking;  and  finally  that  the 
administration  on  the  island  should  be  of  a  milder  form  than 
had  been  the  case  hitherto.  It  was  said  that  upward  of  twenty 
thousand  soldiers  had  fallen  in  battle,  and  though  it  is  not  incum- 
bent upon  us  to  accept  this  as  an  accurate  statement,  yet  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  loss  of  life  had  been  very  great.  The  recol- 
lection of  this  death  roll,  coupled  with  Lin's  repudiation  of  his 
imperial  terms,  determined  Ch'ienlung  to  send  an  overwhelming 
force  to  crush  the  movement. 

An  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  under  the  command 
of  General  Fu  K'angan,  was  shipped  across  the  straits  which 
divided  Fuhkien  from  the  scene  of  strife,  and  though  Lin's  troops 
fought  bravely  against  the  invaders,  they  were  no  match  for  the 
seasoned  imperial  soldiers,  many  of  whom  had  learned  the  art 
of  war  in  Burma  and  had  helped  to  carry  the  fastnesses  of  the 
Miaotzu  tribes.  In  these  conditions  there  could  be  but  one  result, 
and  before  long  General  Fu  was  able  to  return  to  Peking  with  the 
news  that  the  island  was  thoroughly  pacified.     The  loss  of  life 


YUNGCHENG     AND     CH'IENLUNG         99 

1786-1796 

among  the  natives  in  this  campaign  is  frightful  to  contemplate, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  Fu's  triumph  was  achieved  by  making  a 
desert  and  calling  it  peace.  Formosa,  which  was  ceded  to  Japan  by 
the  treaty  of  1895,  has  continued  to  present  the  same  administrative 
difficulties  that  marked  its  relations  with  the  Chinese  from  the  time 
of  its  incorporation  into  their  empire.  The  people  are  not  readily 
handled,  and  the  neighborhood  of  the  mountain  tribes  adds  an  ever- 
impending  terror  to  the  occupation  of  the  more  habitable  and  less 
inaccessible  parts  of  the  island. 

At  this  time  Ch'ienlung  was  not  only  master  of  his  own 
empire,  but  was  also  the  arbiter  of  the  fates  of  the  surrounding 
countries.  His  battalions  were  so  vast,  the  civilization  which  he 
represented  was,  comparatively  speaking,  so  advanced,  and  the 
weapons  used  by  his  troops  were  so  superior  to  those  employed  in 
other  Eastern  lands,  that  his  name  was  one  to  conjure  with ;  and  in 
disputed  successions,  whether  in  Tibet,  Mongolia,  or  Cochin  China, 
he  was  commonly  appealed  to  as  judge.  Shortly  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Formosan  war  a  revolution  broke  out  in  Cochin 
China,  headed  by  an  ex-minister  named  Yuan,  which  ended  in  the 
deposition  of  the  king.  In  this  emergency  the  defeated  potentate 
appealed  for  help  to  Ch'ienlung,  who  ordered  the  governor  of  the 
neighboring  province  of  Kwangsi  to  reinstate  the  dethroned  mon- 
arch. This  the  governor  successfully  efifected.  On  his  return 
toward  the  Chinese  frontier,  however,  he  was  suddenly  attacked 
by  the  rebel  leader,  who,  by  force  of  arms  and  by  clever  strategy, 
inflicted  a  humiliating  defeat  upon  him.  On  the  occasion  of  this 
reverse  Ch'ienlung  appointed  the  veteran  Fu  K'angan  to  avenge 
the  outrage.  Probably  the  fame  of  this  noted  general  impressed 
Yuan  with  the  consciousness  that  further  resistance  was  useless. 
At  all  events  he  made  the  most  abject  submission  to  the  imperial 
forces,  and  so  persuasive  was  he  in  his  pleadings  for  a  favorable 
consideration  that  Ch'ienlung  not  only  forgave  him  his  offenses, 
but  placed  him  on  the  throne  of  the  now,  for  the  second  time, 
dispossessed  king.  To  display  his  gratitude,  Yuan,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  Ch'ienlung's  eightieth  birthday,  presented  himself  at 
Jehol,  and,  as  a  reward  for  his  loyalty,  was  invested  with  the  title 
and  authority  of  a  tributary  sovereign. 

The  reign  of  Ch'ienlung  was  throughout  a  period  of  wars  and 
rumors  of  wars,  and  he  had  no  sooner  settled  the  Cochin  China 
difficulty  to  his  satisfaction  than  his  attention  was  directed  to  the 


100  CHINA 

1786-1796 

extreme  western  part  of  his  subordinate  dominions.  It  happened 
that  a  short  time  previously  the  Panshen  Lama  of  ulterior  Tibet 
had  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Peking  in  order  to  implore  the  Seven 
Weeks  of  Blessing  on  the  aged  emperor.  In  the  presence  of  his 
Imperial  Majesty  the  lama  displayed  Buddhist  relics  so  numer- 
ous that,  as  the  native  historian  states,  they  "  might  have  filled 
the  sea,  and  when  piled  up  were  as  high  as  mountains."  While 
glorying  in  these  religious  trophies  he  was  seized  with  small- 
pox and  died  after  a  short  illness.  His  valuables  and  treasures, 
which  seem  to  have  been  as  plentiful  as  his  relics,  were  handed  over 
to  his  elder  brother,  the  Hut'ukht'u,  or  Saint  Tsungpa,  to  the 
exclusion  of  his  younger  brother,  who  was  further  excommunicated 
as  a  heretic  for  belonging  to  the  "  Red  Religion  "  rather  than  the 
orthodox  yellow  phase  of  the  faith. 

Shemarpa,  the  younger  brother,  could  have  put  up  with  the 
excommunication,  but  to  be  disinherited  was  more  than  he  felt 
inclined  to  endure,  and,  with  a  notable  want  of  patriotism,  he,  by 
way  of  revenge  for  the  treatment  he  had  received,  invited  the 
Gurkhas  of  Nepal  to  enrich  themselves  by  plundering  the  immense 
wealth  which  Tsungpa  had  appropriated  to  himself.  Ever  ready 
for  either  fighting  or  plunder,  the  Gurkhas  easily  yielded  to  the 
temptation,  and,  having  collected  an  army,  crossed  the  frontier  into 
Tibet.  Generals  Pa  Chung,  Go  Huei,  and  Cheng  Te,  the  Chinese 
wardens  of  the  marches,  being  well  aware  that  the  troops  at  their 
command  were  quite  insufficient  to  withstand  the  invaders,  com- 
pounded with  them  by  offering  them  a  bribe  on  behalf  of  the 
Tibetans  of  10,500  ounces  of  gold  to  be  paid  annually  by  the 
abbots  of  the  lamaist  monasteries.  At  the  same  time  ^he  gallant 
generals  reported  to  the  throne  that  the  Gurkhas  had  tendered  their 
allegiance  to  the  empire,  and  had  presented  tribute  as  an  offering 
of  peace. 

When  the  time  for  the  first  settlement  arrived  the  Gurkhas 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Chinese  resident,  requesting  payment 
of  the  sum  agreed  upon.  By  skillful  maneuvering  the  resident 
evaded,  for  the  time  being,  this  demand,  but  when  the  second  year's 
subsidy  became  due,  his  blandishments  failed,  and  the  Gurkhas  in- 
vaded the  country  in  force.  The  rich  city  of  Tashilumbo,  or 
"  Mountain  of  Blessings,"  where  resided  the  Saint  Tsungpa,  was 
their  objective.  The  position  of  the  city  is  by  nature  strong,  being 
protected  on  one  side  by  the  "  Much-winding  "  River  and  on  the 


YUNGCHENG  AND  CH'IENLUNG 


101 


1786-1796 

other  by  a  range  of  precipitous  mountains.  If  the  lamas,  who 
numbered  several  thousand,  had  seriously  undertaken  the  defense 
of  the  sacred  city,  they  would,  without  question,  have  been  able 
to  hold  it  against  the  assault  of  the  Gurkhas.  But  these  holy  men 
being  debilitated  by  their  religious  calling,  and  being  disinclined 
to  fight,  discovered  that  the  omens  were  favorable,  and  that  the 
fact  of  the  "  Mother  of  Heaven  "  having  taken  the  city  under  her 


special  protection  made  it  unnecessary  for  them  to  bestir  themselves. 
The  result  was  that  Tashilumbo  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  invader, 
and  that  those  who  should  have  defended  it  were  either  dispersed 
or  slain.  The  news  of  this  defeat  completely  upset  the  proverbial 
calm  of  the  Dalai  lama,  who  not  unnaturally  feared  that  the  same 
fate  which  had  overtaken  the  "  Mountain  of  Blessings  "  might  be 
shared  by  the  holy  city  of  Lhasa.  The  gods  not  having  interfered 
for  the  protection  of  the  divine  soil  of  Tibet,  he  in  his  difficulty 


102  CHINA 

1786-1796 

turned  to  Peking  for  help,  and  it  so  happened  that  at  the  moment 
when  his  appeal  reached  Ch'ienlung,  Pa  Chung  was  commanding 
the  escort  which  was  accompanying  the  emperor  to  Jehol.  The 
position  was  further  complicated,  from  Pa  Chung's  point  of  view, 
by  the  fact  that  a  revelation  was  at  the  same  time  made  of  the  com- 
pact made  between  him  and  the  Gurkhas.  Feeling  incapable 
of  facing  the  inevitable  inquiry,  he  escaped  from  the  dilemma  by 
committing  suicide,  and  his  mouth  being  thus  closed,  his  two  late 
colleagues  promptly  disclaimed  all  participation  in  the  arrangement 
which  had  been  come  to,  and  denounced  Pa  Chung  as  an  arch- 
traitor.  The  answer  to  these  disclaimers  was  an  order  to  those  who 
made  them  to  march  at  once  into  Tibet  and  to  drive  out  the  in- 
vaders. In  order  to  make  victory  certain,  however.  General  Fu 
K'angan  was  appointed  commander-in-chief,  with  directions  to 
collect  Manchu  troops  and  trained  colonists  to  attack  the  enemy. 
A  considerable  share  of  blame  was  attached  by  the  emperor  to  the 
late  resident  in  Tibet,  who,  to  expiate  his  offenses,  was  sentenced 
to  march  at  the  head  of  the  troops,  wearing  on  his  neck  a  cangue, 
or  heavy  wooden  collar. 

Meanwhile  the  Gurkhas,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  corrupt 
negotiations  of  peace,  had  returned  to  Nepal  with  their  plunder, 
leaving  only  a  thousand  men  to  guard  the  frontier.  So  pusil- 
lanimous were  the  Chinese  generals  on  the  spot  that  they  neither 
interfered  with  these  "  gorged  vagrants,"  as  the  Chinese  historian 
calls  them,  nor  attacked  the  insignificant  force  left  to  oppose  them. 
In  the  following  year,  however,  General  Fu  entered  ulterior  Tibet 
from  Kokonor,  and  having  defeated  the  Gurkha  frontier  force, 
invaded  Nepal.  For  strategic  reasons  he  divided  his  army  into 
three  columns,  the  center  one  being  under  his  pefsonal  command. 
The  generals  commanding  the  right  and  left  columns  had  orders  to 
push  on  and  turn  the  flanks  of  any  force  that  might  be  opposing  the 
main  advance.  But  from  the  first  the  Gurkhas  showed  rather 
signs  of  retreating  than  of  advancing,  and  as  they  retired  they 
sought  to  impede  the  enemy's  movements  by  destroying  the  sus- 
pension and  other  bridges  which  crossed  the  mountain  torrents 
in  those  highland  districts.  Though  these  tactics  delayed  the 
Chinese  advance,  General  Fu  pushed  persistently  on,  and  inflicted 
several  severe  defeats  on  the  enemy.  The  Gurkhas  were  now 
thoroughly  alarmed,  and  sent  messengers  to  beg  for  peace.  But 
Fu  was  inexorable,  and  in  spite  of  the  stubborn  opposition  of  the 


YUNGCHENG     AND     CH'IENLUNG       103 

1786-1796 

Gurkhas  at  points  of  vantage,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  within 
striking  distance  of  the  capital,  Khatmandu,  with  49,000  confident 
troops  still  under  his  command.  Here  the  Gurkha  ruler  drew  up 
his  battered  forces  for  a  desperate  last  stand.  The  battle  was  re- 
lentlessly fought,  and  only  by  turning  his  guns  on  his  own  men 
could  the  Chinese  general  keep  them  to  the  attack.  The  victory 
over  the  Gurkhas  was  at  length  decisive,  but  the  approach  of 
winter,  when  a  retreat  through  the  mountain  passes  of  Nepal 
and  Tibet  must  necessarily  have  been  attended  with  difficulty  and 
danger,  inclined  General  Fu  to  listen  to  renewed  pleading  for  peace. 
Finally,  this  was  granted,  and  Fu  retired,  after  having  received  the 
submission  of  the  Gurkha  chiefs,  who  declared  their  country  to  be 
tributary  to  China.  From  that  day  to  this  tribute  missions  in 
compliance  with  this  treaty  have  without  fail  wended  their  weary 
way  through  the  wastes  of  Tibet  to  Peking,  at  the  stated  intervals 
agreed  upon. 

Ch'ienlung  stands  out  as  the  greatest  of  the  Manchu  kings 
and  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  last  of  the  Chinese  emperors 
who  actually  ruled  over  the  country.  The  vigorous  policy  of  his 
reign  reflected  the  firmness  of  his  will  despite  the  strength  of  the 
corrupt  mandarin  party  "  always  in  the  ascendant  in  Peking." 
The  difficulty  of  an  empire  occupying  almost  one-third  of  the  whole 
vast  continent  of  Asia  can  easily  be  understood.  Unwieldy,  and 
as  yet  unwelded,  the  numerous  provinces  and  dependencies,  while 
nominally  under  the  rule  of  the  "  King  of  Heaven,"  were  in  reality 
a  federation  of  kingdoms,  as  in  the  present  day,  each  under  the 
despotic  rule  of  its  governor  or  viceroy,  and  with  its  teeming 
populations  existing,  in  spite  of  great  agricultural  and  mineral 
wealth,  in  a  condition  of  popular  misery  bordering  on  absolute 
starvation. 

With  practically  no  constitutional  unity,  with  neither  racial 
nor  religious  affinity,  the  peoples  of  the  vast  empire  exhibit  as  much 
diversity  as  do  the  extremes  of  climate  and  topography.  The  Man- 
chus  of  the  north  are  antipodal  to  the  Tibetans  of  the  south  and 
even  within  China  proper  the  middle  southern  province  of  Hunan 
bears  little  relation  of  sympathy  with  the  province  of  Kansu  in 
the  northwest.  Sloping  from  the  huge  mountain  masses  of  cen- 
tral Asia  eastward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  covering  more  than 
four  million  square  miles,  China  presents  every  variety  of  geo- 
graphical characteristic  from  the  tropical  coast-clinging  provinces 


104 


CHINA 


1786-17Se 

of  the  south  to  the  temperate  borders  of  the  Gulf  of  Pe-chi-li  and 
includes  wild  mountainous  tracts,  table-lands,  alluvial  plains,  and 
loess  and  non-loess  regions.  The  loess — 'from  the  German  loss 
(loose),  and  called  by  the  Chinese  hwang-tii — is  a  sort  of  loose, 
sandy  soil,  spreading  over  high  ground  and  low,  smoothing  irregu- 
larities and  sometimes  reaching  a  depth  of  many  hundred  feet. 
Geologists  explain  it  as  a  dust  deposit  blown  for  countless  genera- 
tions from  the  interior  deserts.  It  clearly  characterizes  northern 
China  and  of  itself  is  responsible  for  many  distinguishing  features, 
not  only  in  the  scenery  but  in  the  agricultural  products  and  the 
general  mode  of  life  of  the  inhabitants  of  such  regions. 


PART   II 

THE  GROWTH  OF  COMMERCE  AND  THE 
FIRST  FOREIGN  WARS.     1796-1860 


Chapter  V 

THE  OPENING  OF  DIPLOMATIC   INTERCOURSE  WITH 
FOREIGN  NATIONS.     1635-1799 

THE  reign  of  Ch'ienlung  was  now  drawing  to  its  close,  but 
before  he  abdicated,  in  1796,  an  event  occurred  which 
opened  new  relations  between  the  West  and  China.  Up 
to  this  time  the  relations  of  foreigners  with  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment had  been  in  a  most  unsatisfactory  condition,  although  England 
had  attempted  on  many  occasions  so  to  open  diplomatic  intercourse 
as  to  secure  to  her  subjects  at  least  the  rights  and  privileges  belong- 
ing to  traders  in  foreign  lands.  So  long  ago  as  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  an  expedition  was  sent  out  under  John  Mildenhall 
to  open  trading  relations  with  the  Celestial  Empire.  The  mission 
was  a  failure,  but,  nothing  daunted,  Charles  I.  granted  a  charter 
to  a  body  of  English  merchants  empowering  them  to  form  an 
official  company  to  promote  commerce  with  the  Chinese.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  right.  Captain  Weddell  in  1635  reached  Macao  in 
command  of  a  small  trading  fleet.  The  Portuguese,  whose  govern- 
ment had  promised  to  support  the  British  venture,  threw,  however, 
every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  English  captain,  who  at  length, 
worn  out  by  the  obstructions  offered  by  the  Portuguese  and  the 
subterfuges  of  the  mandarins,  determined  to  advance  in  his  boats 
to  Canton.  When  passing  the  Bogue  forts  on  his  way  up  the 
river,  a  battery  suddenly  opened  fire  on  his  flotilla,  upon  which  he 
at  once  determined  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  authors  of  this 
attack.  Having  moved  his  ships  into  position  opposite  the  forts, 
he  hoisted  a  red  flag  and  opened  fire  on  the  batteries.  The  Chinese 
gunners,  unaccustomed  to  such  reprisals,  soon  ceased  to  reply  to 
the  English  guns.  Weddell  thereupon  landed  a  force,  took  pos- 
session of  the  forts,  and  hoisted  the  British  colors  over  them. 

This  kind  of  argument  had  the  effect  which  it  always  has  had 
upon  the  Chinese.  Negotiations  were  opened  at  once,  and  the  right 
to  trade  was  granted  on  condition  that  the  guns  captured  from 
the  Bogue  forts  should  be  returned.  Very  little,  however,  resulted 
from  this  agreement.     The  exactions  imposed  by  the  Chinese  on 

107 


108  CHINA 

1685-1799 

all  imports  and  exports  were  so  excessive  that  the  company  felt 
it  almost  useless  to  attempt  to  carry  on  a  trade.  During  the 
piratical  rule,  however,  of  Koxinga's  son  at  Formosa  and  Amoy 
some  privileges  of  value  were  granted  to  English  traders,  and  in 
1678  the  trade  at  the  two  places  was  valued  at  something  like 
$60,000.  Three  years  later,  however,  the  company  withdrew  from 
these  ports  and  established  a  single  factory  at  Canton.  Subsequently 
Catchpoole  was  appointed  British  consul  to  China,  and  in  1701 
succeeded  in  inducing  the  Chinese  to  allow  ships  to  trade  at 
Ningpo.  But  again  the  extortions  of  the  mandarins  destroyed  the 
expected  profit  of  the  venture,  and  at  Canton  equally  grievous 
burdens  were  tending  to  make  trade  impossible.  The  duty  on 
imports  was  increased  to  16  per  cent.,  and  heavy  exactions  were 
demanded  in  exchange  for  the  right  of  provisioning  the  ships.  An 
appeal  against  these  disabilities  was  made  to  the  governor  of 
Canton  in  person,  but  though  some  temporary  relief  was  granted, 
the  system  which  had  been  adopted  of  farming  out  the  foreign 
trade  to  a  small  company  of  native  merchants  had  proved  so  con- 
venient to  the  authorities  that,  though  it  practically  entailed  the 
evils  complained  of,  it  was  again  reverted  to,  while  an  additional 
duty  of  ID  per  cent,  upon  all  exports  was  further  imposed.  Such 
was  the  position  of  things  when  Ch'ienlung  ascended  the  throne, 
and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  his  long  and  glorious  reign  was  the 
remission  of  this  extra  burden.  The  emperor,  however,  coupled 
the  concession  with  the  demand  that  the  foreign  merchants  should 
listen  to  his  gracious  message  on  their  knees,  and  should  give  up 
all  the  arms  which  they  possessed  on  board  their  ships.  Happily 
the  merchants  refused  to  buy  the  imperial  favor  by  such  observ- 
ances, and  they  neither  bowed  the  knee  nor  gave  up  their  guns  at 
Ch'ienlung's  bidding.  Though  hampered  by  vexatious  regulations 
and  impoverished  by  extortions,  the  foreign  trade  at  Canton  made 
some  headway,  and  it  is  stated  that  in  the  year  of  Ch'ienlung's 
accession  there  were  anchored  at  that  port  four  English,  two  French, 
two  Dutch,  one  Danish,  and  one  Swedish  vessel.  In  1742  H.  M.  S. 
Centurion,  commanded  by  Commodore  Anson,  the  first  British 
man-of-war  which  had  ever  visited  China,  arrived  at  Macao.  With 
an  even  hand  the  Chinese  sought  to  inflict  on  the  commodore  the 
same  petty  annoyances  as  those  to  which  the  merchants  were  ac- 
customed. He  was  refused  provisions  for  his  ship,  an  unfriendly 
act  which  he  met  by  demanding  an  interview  with  the  governor, 


DIPLOMATIC     INTERCOURSE  109 

1635-1799 

and  by  refusing  to  leave  the  river  until  he  had  been  supplied  with 
all  necessary  requirements. 

With  the  policy  of  obstruction  which  has  always  distinguished 
the  conduct  of  the  Chinese  toward  foreigners,  the  authorities  at 
Canton,  instead  of  trying  to  foster  the  trade  which  was  already 
enriching  the  native  official  and  merchants,  continued  to  heap 
burdens  upon  it,  until  they  nearly  succeeded  in  starving  out  the 
European  traders,  the  mandarins  risking,  for  the  sake  of  an  im- 
mediate temporary  gain,  the  future  and  increasing  profit  which 
might  legitimately  be  expected  to  accrue  to  them.  So  discouraged 
were  the  foreigners  at  this  attitude  of  the  Canton  authorities  that 
they  again  attempted  to  open  a  trade  with  Amoy  and  Ningpo.  In 
neither  case,  however,  was  the  enterprise  successful,  and,  in  1759, 
Flint,  a  pioneer  of  commerce,  who  had  been  sent  to  Ningpo,  find- 
ing commercial  relations  impossible  at  that  port,  took  ship  in  a 
native  vessel  for  Tientsin,  from  which  place  he  communicated  a 
memorial  to  the  emperor,  showing  the  position  of  affairs.  So 
enterprising  a  foreigner  was  evidently  one  to  be  got  rid  of,  and  by 
way  of  an  answer  he  was  ordered  to  return  to  Canton  in  the  com- 
pany of  a  mandarin  appointed  to  escort  him.  Ostensibly,  however, 
he  had  gained  much  that  he  had  sought  for.  All  duties  over  6  per 
cent,  were  remitted,  and  illegal  exactions  were  forbidden. 

According  to  the  Chinese  custom  in  such  matters,  the  governor 
of  the  city  desired  to  communicate  the  emperor's  orders  to  Flint 
in  person.  Fortunately  for  the  latter  he  was  accompanied  on  the 
occasion  by  some  of  his  own  countrymen,  for,  to  the  extreme 
astonishment  of  himself  and  his  friends,  they  were,  without  notice, 
forcibly  hurried  into  the  governor's  presence,  where  the  official 
myrmidons  tried  to  compel  them  to  do  homage  on  their  knees 
after  the  Chinese  manner.  The  Englishmen  resisted  this  violence, 
and  with  such  determination  that,  at  length,  the  governor  ordered 
his  men  to  desist  from  what  seemed  likely  to  prove  an  unsuccessful 
struggle.  He  then  bade  Flint  advance,  and  showing  him  a  paper 
which  purported  to  be  an  imperial  edict,  he  informed  him  that  he 
was  to  be  banished  to  Macao,  and  subsequently  to  be  deported  to 
England  as  a  punishment  for  having  endeavored  to  open  a  trade 
at  Ningpo  contrary  to  orders  from  Peking.  This  sentence  was 
carried  out  in  its  entirety,  and  the  Chinaman  who  had  written  the 
petition  which  had  been  presented  to  the  emperor  was  beheaded  for 
having  traitorously  encouraged  a  foreigner. 


110 


CHINA 


1635-1799 


It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  foreign  residents  at  Canton 
could  have  put  up  with  the  insults  to  which  they  were  now  daily 
subjected.  "  The  Barbarians  are  like  beasts,  and  are  not  to  be 
ruled  on  the  same  principles  as  ordinary  men,"  said  the  Chinese; 
and,  to  give  them  their  due,  they  certainly  acted  up  to  their 
opinions.  The  handful  of  foreigners,  who  were  constantly  threat- 
ened by  the  millions  of  natives  by  whom  they  were  surrounded, 
were  powerless  to  resist  successfully  the  indignities  which  were 
heaped  upon  them,  and  some  lamentable  instances  occurred  in 
which  gross  injustice  resulted  to  individuals  from  the  inequality 
of  the  opposing  forces.  In  1784,  on  the  occasion  of  a  salute  being 
fired  from  an  English  ship,  a  Chinaman  was  accidentally  killed  by 
a  shot  which  had  been  carelessly  left  in  the  gun.  The  authorities 
immediately  demanded  that  the  man  who  fired  the  gun  should  be 
handed  over  to  them  for  punishment.  Having  a  shrewd  suspicion 
that  this  demand  would  be  refused,  the  Chinese  strengthened  their 
hands  by  the  adoption  of  a  subterfuge.  They  seized  the  supercargo 
of  another  vessel,  and  gave  formal  notice  that  his  release  could 
only  be  obtained  by  the  surrender  of  the  gunner.  The  supercargo 
was  well  treated  in  his  confinement,  and,  believing  that  the  object 
of  the  mandarins  in  desiring  the  gunner's  presence  was  merely  to 
arrive  at  a  full  understanding  of  the  case,  he  wrote  urging  that 
the  man  should  be  sent.  Unfortunately  this  was  done.  The  super- 
cargo was  instantly  released  and  the  gunner  was  strangled.  Happily 
this  is  the  only  case  in  which  an  Englishman,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, has  been  handed  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Chinese, 
and  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  it  will  be  the  last. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  how  extremely  unsatisfactory 
were  the  relations  between  China  and  the  East  India  Company 
during  the  eighteenth  century.  The  position  was  so  derogatory  to 
England,  and  was  so  full  of  profitless  difficulties  to  the  merchants 
themselves,  that  the  serious  attention  of  the  English  Government 
was  directed  to  the  situation,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to  send 
a  special  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Peking  to  arrange  terms  on 
which  the  natives  of  the  two  countries  might  live  together  in  peace 
and  amity.  In  1788  Colonel  Cathcart  was  appointed  to  this  office. 
Unhappily,  however,  he  died  before  reaching  China,  and  four  years 
later  Lord  Macartney  was  nominated  to  succeed  him.  Great 
preparations  were  made  to  confer  dignity  on  this  mission,  and 
presents  of  every  sort  were  collected  to  serve  as  tokens  of  the 


DIPLOMATIC     INTERCOURSE  111 

1635-1799 

friendly  feeling  of  the  third  George  toward  the  aged  emperor. 
On  arriving  off  the  coast  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  Lord  Macartney 
was  met  with  every  sign  of  consideration  and  good  will,  and  pilots 
were  waiting  in  readiness  to  steer  his  vessel  through  the  straits 
of  Formosa  northward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho.  There  Lord 
Macartney  was  received  by  a  special  commissioner  of  high  rank, 
who  bade  him  welcome  in  the  name  of  his  imperial  master.  On 
the  shores  of  the  river,  where,  in  1859,  British  soldiers  and  sailors 
were  treacherously  fired  on  from  the  neighboring  forts,  were  col- 
lected gifts  and  provisions  for  presentation  to  "  the  great  mandarin, 
who,"  as  Ch'ienlung  said,  "  had  come  so  far  to  testify  the  friendly 
feelings  of  England  toward  China."  Twenty  bullocks,  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  sheep,  a  hundred  and  twenty  pigs,  and  countless 
other  provender  were  provided  for  the  food  of  the  Englishmen. 
A  fleet  of  yacht-like  vessels,  numbers  of  vehicles,  and  numerous 
horses  were  held  in  readiness  to  convey  the  embassy  to  Tientsin. 
Preferring  to  go  by  water,  a  specially  commodious  vessel  was  pre- 
pared for  Lord  Macartney,  while  sixteen  other  boats  provided  ac- 
commodation for  the  members  of  the  mission  and  the  escort.  At 
Tientsin  the  embassy  was  royally  entertained,  and  during  their 
stay  at  that  port  dramas  were  continuously  acted  for  their  amuse- 
ment in  a  temporary  theater  erected  on  the  shore  opposite  their 
vessels.  After  a  further  voyage  Lord  Macartney  reached  Tung- 
chow,  the  port  of  Peking.  Here  preparations  were  made  for  the 
land  journey  to  the  capital,  and  here  also  discussions  were  renewed 
as  to  the  etiquette  to  be  observed  on  the  ambassador  being  presented 
to  the  emperor.  As  has  already  been  shown,  the  Chinese  have 
persistently  attempted  to  induce  all  foreign  envoys  to  k'ot'ow  when 
entering  the  presence  of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  It  was  part  of 
the  duty  of  the  imperial  commissioner  attached  to  the  embassy  to 
induce  Lord  Macartney  to  perform  this  degrading  ceremony,  and 
he  used  his  best  endeavors  to  carry  his  point.  But  Lord  Macartney, 
who  had  received  positive  instructions  on  the  subject  before  leaving 
England,  distinctly  declined  to  yield  unless  a  Chinese  official  of 
equal  rank  with  himself  would  k'ot'ow  before  the  portrait  of  the 
English  king.  This  condition  was  referred  to  Ch'ienlung,  who, 
recognizing  the  uselessness  of  continuing  the  discussion,  had  the 
wisdom  to  allow  the  matter  to  drop. 

The  transportation  of  the  presents  from  Tungchow  to  Peking 
was  a  matter  of  some  difficulty.    They  varied  in  size  from  carriages 


112 


CHINA 


1635-1799 

to  watches,  and  some  idea  of  their  number  may  be  gauged  from 
the  fact  that  ninety  wagons,  forty  barrows,  two  hundred  horses, 
and  three  thousand  men  were  employed  to  carry  them.  It  speaks 
well  for  the  manner  in  which  they  were  packed  that,  though  many 
were  fragile,  they  all  arrived  safely  at  the  house  prepared  for  the 
ambassador  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Summer  Palace  of  Yuan- 
ming-yuan. 

As  the  members  of  the  mission  entered  the  gates  of  Peking 
on  their  way  to  their  destination  a  salute  of  guns  was  fired  in  their 
honor,  and  every  courtesy  was  extended  to  them.  Ch'ienlung  was 
at  this  time  at  Jehol,  in  Mongolia,  and  as  it  was  plainly  impossible 
to  carry  the  presents  thither,  it  was  agreed  that  they  should  be 
arranged  in  the  throne-room  of  the  palace  at  Peking  to  await  the 
inspection  of  his  Imperial  Majesty  on  his  return  to  the  capital. 
The  presence  of  Lord  Macartney  in  this  room  of  state  suggested 
a  recurrence  of  the  vexed  question  of  the  k'ot'ow,  and  the  minister. 
Ho,  who  was  especially  appointed  to  entertain  the  English  am- 
bassador, was  persistent  in  his  endeavors  to  reopen  the  question. 
Lord  Macartney,  however,  was  firm,  and  explained  that  a  de- 
rogatory action  on  the  part  of  an  ambassador  was  in  Europe 
regarded  as  a  derogatory  action  on  the  part  of  the  ambassador's 
sovereign,  and  emphasized  the  point  by  describing  how  Timagoras, 
a  Greek  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Persia,  was  executed  on  his 
return  to  Athens  for  having  submitted  to  discourtesy  at  the  court 
of  Teheran.  Lord  Macartney  further  took  this  opportunity  of 
expostulating  with  Ho  about  the  impertinent  legend  which  had  been 
inscribed  on  the  flag  of  the  vessel  on  which  he  had  voyaged  up  the 
Peiho,  and  which  had  described  him  as  a  tribute-bearer  from  the 
country  of  England. 

So  soon  as  was  practicable,  that  is  to  say,  on  September  2, 
1793,  the  embassy  started  for  Jehol,  Lord  Macartney  traveling  in 
an  English  postchaise.  On  the  fourth  day  they  reached  the  Great 
Wall,  where  a  strong  guard  of  soldiers  was  drawn  up  to  do  them 
honor.  Three  days  later  they  reached  Jehol,  where  they  were 
accommodated  in  one  of  the  most  spacious  houses  in  the  town. 
After  many  discussions  with  Ho  an  audience  was  arranged  for  the 
fourteenth  of  the  month.  The  Chinese  have  a  most  uncomfortable 
habit  of  holding  their  state  ceremonies  at  daybreak,  and  it  is  part 
of  the  etiquette  that  those  attending  such  functions  should  be  in 
waiting  some  hours  before  the  appointed  time.     Fortunately  on 


DIPLOMATIC     INTERCOURSE  113 

1635-1799 

this  occasion  the  temperature  was  mild,  and  therefore  no  serious 
inconvenience  was  suffered;  but  in  the  winter  season  not  the  least 
arduous  part  of  a  minister's  duty  is  to  wait  at  the  early  hours  of  the 
morning  in  cold,  fireless  rooms  for  the  honor  of  a  momentary 
conversation  with  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  A  tent  set  in  the  garden 
of  the  palace  formed  the  court  of  audience,  and  so  soon  as  Ch'ien- 
lung  had  mounted  the  throne.  Lord  Macartney,  with  a  number  of 
envoys  from  tributary  states,  was  admitted  into  the  presence.  It 
had  been  arranged  that  he  should  offer  precisely  the  same  homage 
to  the  emperor  as  he  was  accustomed  to  offer  to  his  own  sovereign. 
As  he  advanced,  therefore,  to  the  throne,  he  knelt  on  one  knee, 
and,  raising  the  gold  box  which  contained  the  king's  letter  with 
both  hands  above  his  head,  he  presented  it  to  Ch'ienlung,  who, 
taking  it  from  his  hands,  inquired  as  to  the  health  of  the  English 
sovereign,  at  the  same  time  expressing  gratification  that  he  should 
have  sent  his  ambassador  to  so  distant  a  court.  In  the  course  of 
the  conversation  which  followed  there  occurred  a  difficulty  in  in- 
terpreting, and  in  reply  to  a  question  put  from  the  throne,  Ch'ien- 
lung was  informed  that  the  only  member  of  the  embassy  who  spoke 
Chinese  was  George  Staunton,  the  ambassador's  page,  aged  thirteen. 
Ch'ienlung  ordered  the  lad  to  be  presented  to  him,  and,  being 
pleased  with  the  boy's  manner  and  appearance,  took  his  purse  from 
his  belt  and  bestowed  it  on  him. 

Subsequently  a  feast  was  spread,  when  the  seat  of  honor  was 
given  to  Lord  Macartney,  with  whom  the  emperor  exchanged  civili- 
ties, and  to  whom  he  sent  dainty  morsels  of  food  and  wine  from  his 
own  table.  So  far,  however,  the  object  of  the  mission  had  not 
been  advanced  one  iota.  The  audience  had  been  merely  formal, 
and  in  his  conversations  with  Minister  Ho,  Lord  Macartney  had 
found  it  impossible  to  discuss  at  length  the  main  issues  between 
them.  Ho  was  a  typical  Oriental  courtier,  subtle,  polite,  and  ap- 
parently ingenuous.  He  possessed,  also,  a  full  share  of  that  Oriental 
diplomacy  which  enables  Chinese  negotiators  to  avoid  disagreeable 
topics.  In  other  respects,  too,  .he  was  a  typical  Eastern  statesman. 
"  Bom  in  the  garret,  in  the  kitchen  bred,"  he  happened  on  one 
occasion  to  attract  the  emperor's  attention  by  his  courtly  bearing 
and  handsome  presence  With  unusual  rapidity  he  was  advanced 
from  office  to  office  until  he  reached  the  highest  rung  of  the  ladder. 
So  long  as  Ch'ienlung  lived  he  maintained  his  position,  but  evil 
days  fell  upon  him  when  Chiach'ing  succeeded  to  the  throne.    The 


114  CHINA 

1635-1799 

new  emperor  had  long  disapproved  of  the  unHmited  power  which 
Ho  had  exercised.  He  knew,  also,  that  he  had  acquired  immense 
wealth  in  other  ways  than  by  the  lawful  rewards  of  his  official 
position,  and  Ch'ienlung  was,  therefore,  no  sooner  gathered  to  his 
fathers  than  Ho  was  arrested  on  a  long  series  of  charges  embrac- 
ing malfeasance  in  every  relation  of  life.  The  amount  of  wealth 
discovered  in  his  palace  must  have  been  a  surprise  even  to  his 
judges.  Gold,  silver,  and  jewels  to  the  value  of  $116,650,000 
were  discovered  in  his  treasury.  This  alone  was  enough  to  con- 
vict him  of  the  gravest  crimes,  and  from  a  Chinese  point  of  view,  to 
justify  the  sentence  passed  upon  him,  of  being  cut  to  pieces.  In 
consideration,  however,  of  his  long  service  the  emperor  was  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  commute  this  cruel  fate  to  the  present  of  a 
silken  cord,  which  brought  the  nefarious  career  of  this  illustrious 
culprit  to  a  close. 

But  though  corrupt  and  officially  dishonest,  Ho  was  an  agree- 
able companion,  and  made  an  exceptionally  good  cicerone  on  the 
occasion  when,  at  the  emperor's  invitation.  Lord  Macartney  visited 
the  Palace  Gardens  at  Jehol.  Indeed  on  this  day  he,  in  the  exercise 
of  friendship,  exerted  himself  unduly,  and  was  indebted  for  the 
recovery  from  his  fatigues  to  the  kindly  attention  of  the  doctor 
of  the  English  embassy.  One  other  entertainment,  which  again 
took  place  at  the  very  uncomfortable  hour  of  sunrise,  brought 
the  imperial  hospitalities  to  an  end,  and  on  September  21  Lord 
Macartney  left  Jehol  for  Peking.  After  some  weeks'  stay  in  that 
capital  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  leave  for  the  south,  and 
the  exigences  of  his  position  obliged  him  to  accept  the  route  laid 
down  by  the  Chinese.  This  entailed  a  long  land  journey  through 
the  provinces  of  Shantung,  Kiangsu,  Chehkiang,  and  Fuhkien  to 
Canton,  where  he  arrived  on  December  19.  He  eventually  reached 
England  on  September  5,  1794. 

It  is  impossible  to  study  the  history  of  Lord  Macartney's 
mission  without  observing  the  consistent  political  hostility  toward 
foreign  nations  which  was  shown  by  the  Chinese  Grovernment,  at 
the  same  time  that  much  good-will  toward  the  ambassador  per- 
sonally was  displayed  by  the  emperor  and  some  of  the  officials. 
No  commercial  privileges  resulted  from  Lord  Macartney's  nego- 
tiations, and  the  ill-concealed  contempt  of  most  of  those  with  whom 
he  was  brought  into  contact  marks  but  too  clearly  the  spirit  of 
exclusive  jealousy  which  has  guided,  and  is  still  guiding,  the  policy 


DIPLOMATIC     INTERCOURSE  115 

1635-1799 

of  the  Peking  cabinet.  The  impertinent  inscription  on  the  ambas- 
sador's flag,  the  facts  that  though  treated  with  personal  respect 
he  was  guarded  as  a  prisoner;  that  those  of  the  mission  who  re- 
mained at  Peking  during  his  absence  at  Jehol  were  practically 
confined  to  the  house,  and  were  not  allowed  even  to  receive  visits 
from  the  European  missionaries  in  the  capital;  that  the  tedious 
land  journey  from  the  north  to  the  south  of  the  empire  was  un- 
necessarily inflicted  upon  him,  all  point  to  the  same  supercilious 
regard  which  it  is  the  habit  of  the  Celestials  to  entertain  toward 
foreigners.  The  Chinese  have  habitually  assumed  such  a  distant 
and  lofty  attitude  toward  Europeans  that  they  have  by  force  of 
insistence  succeeded  to  some  extent  in  inducing  these  to  accept 
them  at  their  own  valuation.  In  this  attitude  they  have  been 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  unfortunately  the  "  Outer  Barbarians  " 
have  invariably  appeared  as  suppliants  for  favors  to  come,  and  that 
they  have  been  always  the  dispensers  of  privileges  for  which  they 
have  not  asked  anything  in  return.  Lord  Macartney  was  doubtless 
pleased  and  surprised  at  the  reception  which  he  met  with  at  the 
hands  of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  and  he  was  not  inclined  to  observe 
too  closely  the  political  conduct  of  his  entertainers.  He  was  re- 
ceived as  an  envoy  from  a  superior  tributary  state,  and  he  was 
treated  as  such;  and  all  that  he  succeeded  in  exacting  from  the 
government  was  a  permission  that  his  countrymen  might  trade 
at  Canton  on  suflferance,  so  long  as  they  obeyed  the  orders  of  the 
authorities.  Under  the  circumstances  it  was  quite  impossible  that 
he  should  have  gained  any  diplomatic  success.  Concessions  are 
only  to  be  obtained  from  the  Chinese  by  successes  in  the  field,  or 
by  such  a  display  of  power  as  would  command  success;  Lord 
Macartney  had  neither  of  these  sources  of  authority  at  his  back, 
and  the  result  which  followed  was  inevitable. 

In  1796  Ch'ienlung  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  Chiach'ing, 
and  three  years  later,  on  February  8,  1799,  he  became  a  "  guest  in 
heaven."  The  native  historians  state  with  justice  that  during  the 
sixty  years  of  his  reign  the  empire  reached  its  acme  of  greatness. 
From  the  northern  steppes  of  Mongolia  to  Cochin  China,  and 
from  Formosa  to  Nepal,  the  Chinese  armies  had  fought  and  con- 
quered. Upward  of  four  hundred  million  of  the  human  race  had 
obeyed  the  commands  of  the  great  emperor,  and  in  no  instance  had 
his  foes  been  able  to  inflict  more  than  a  temporary  defeat  upon  his 
troops. 


Chapter   VI 

THE  REIGN   OF   CHIACH'ING,   AND   THE   FIRST  YEARS 
OF    HIS    SUCCESSOR.     1796- 1834 

TO  the  splendid  heritage  bequeathed  by  Ch'ienlung  his  son 
Chiach'ing  succeeded,  and  this  change  at  once  produced 
unfortunate  results.  The  late  sovereign  was  to  his  suc- 
cessor as  Hyperion  to  a  satyr;  the  gracious  presence,  courteous 
manner,  and  marked  ability  which  belonged  to  Ch'ienlung  were  ex- 
changed for  churlish  conduct,  a  sordid  disposition,  and  an  uncouth 
bearing  in  the  case  of  Chiach'ing,  The  reins  of  empire,  which 
for  sixty  years  had  been  guided  by  the  judicious  hands  of  the 
father,  were  no  sooner  seized  upon  by  his  degenerate  son  than 
the  forces  of  disorder  and  riot  began  to  make  themselves  felt. 

It  is  a  current  belief  in  China,  as  in  many  other  lands,  that 
the  appearance  of  a  comet  forebodes  ill  to  the  ruling  house,  and 
history  tells  us  that,  during  the  year  in  which  Chiach'ing  ascended 
the  throne,  a  "  broom-tailed  star "  appeared  in  the  west,  and,  if 
we  are  to  believe  their  records,  remained  visible  for  twelve  months. 
Such  beliefs  as  this  have  a  way  of  bringing  about  their  own  ful- 
fillment, and  it  is  possible  that  the  leaders  of  the  "  White  Lily  " 
sect  took  advantage  of  this  sign  in  the  sky  to  raise  the  standard 
of  revolt.  This  society,  like  all  similar  associations  in  China,  began 
as  a  purely  philanthropic  institution,  intended  for  the  benefit  of 
the  sick  and  the  distressed.  By  degrees  more  ambitious  designs 
attracted  the  energies  of  the  leaders,  and,  on  the  ready  excuse  of 
friction  with  the  local  authorities,  a  general  revolt  broke  out  almost 
simultaneously  in  the  provinces  of  Honan,  Shensi,  Kansu,  and 
Szech'uan,  in  which  last  territory  the  ranks  of  the  society  were 
largely  recruited  from  the  disbanded  soldiers  of  the  Nepal  cam-^ 
paign.  The  struggle  was  long  and  fierce,  and  it  is  said  that,  in] 
one  province  alone,  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  members 
of  the  incriminated  society  were  put  to  death,  while  the  imperial 
treasury  was  the  poorer  by  ioo,ooo,cx)o  taels  at  the  close  of  the] 
civil  war. 

116 


REIGN    OF     CHIACH'ING  117 

1796-1820 

A  notable  feature  of  this  uprising  and  a  marked  evidence  of 
the  unpopularity  of  Chiach'ing  was  the  fact  that  as  part  of  the 
movement  two  attempts  were  publicly  made  to  assassinate  the 
emperor,  one  in  the  streets  of  Peking  and  the  other  in  the  private 
apartments  of  the  imperial  palace.  In  both  cases  Chiach'ing  was 
saved  by  the  courage  of  others,  rather  than  by  his  own  valor.  In 
the  first  instance  the  guards  attached  to  his  person,  with  the  help 
of  the  people  in  the  street,  prevented  the  assassins  from  carrying  out 
their  fell  intent,  and  on  the  other  occasion  his  preservation  was 
entirely  due  to  the  presence  of  mind  and  courage  of  Prince  Mien- 
ning,  his  second  son,  who  subsequently  succeeded  him  as  the 
Emperor  Taokwang.  In  this  latter  instance  the  assassins  forced 
their  way  into  the  imperial  precincts,  intent  on  finding  their  victim, 
who,  according  to  some  accounts,  was  not  at  the  moment  in  the 
palace.  But  however  that  may  be,  Prince  Mienning  shot  two  of 
the  would-be  assassins,  while  a  relative,  who  happened  to  be  with 
him,  accounted  for  a  third.  Chiach'ing's  own  description  of  the 
occurrence  is  as  follows:  "  Suddenly  on  the  15th  of  the  9th  moon, 
rebellion  arose  under  my  own  arm.  ...  A  banditti  of  up- 
ward of  seventy  men  of  the  Sect  T'ienli  violated  the  prohibited 
gate  [of  the  palace] ;  they  wounded  the  guard  and  rushed  into 
the  inner  palace.  Four  were  seized  and  bound;  three  others  as- 
cended the  wall  with  a  flag.  My  imperial  second  son  seized  a 
matchlock  and  shot  two  of  them ;  my  nephew  killed  the  third.  For 
this  deliverance  I  am  indebted  to  the  energies  of  my  second  son." 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  as  Chiach'ing  had  so  signally 
failed  in  securing  the  regard  of  his  own  countrymen  he  might  have 
sought  the  alliance  of  foreigners.  But  he  was  even  less  in  sympathy 
with  these  than  with  the  Changs  and  Lis  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 
The  missionaries,  to  whom  his  father  had  shown  respect  and  kind- 
liness, were  dismissed  from  the  imperial  presence;  Father  Amiot, 
who  had  resided  in  Peking  for  thirty  years,  was  expelled  from  the 
capital,  and  the  traders  of  Canton  were  made  pointedly  conscious 
_  that  the  central  power  was  against  them.  An  overbearing  attitude 
was  adopted  toward  Europeans  generally,  and  no  velvet  glove 
concealed  the  mailed  fist  of  the  emperor,  except  on  occasions  when, 
with  that  curious  mixture  of  arrogance  and  suppliancy,  his  rep- 
resentatives besought  the  help  of  English  seamen  against  their 
domestic  enemies.  The  southern  coasts  of  China  have  always  been 
the  congenial  haunts  of  pirates.    The  numberless  inlets  and  count- 


118  CHINA 

1796-1820 

less  islands  which  line  the  coast  provide  convenient  and  safe  posts 
from  which  to  watch  for  prey  or  to  escape  from  pursuers.     It  will 
be  remembered  that  Koxinga  and  his  son  practically  held  posses- j 
sion  of  the  southern  seaboard  of  the  empire  for  a  considerable  j 
period  of  years,  and  under  the  unsympathetic  rule  of  Chiach'ing 
a  successor  to  these  leaders  appeared  in  the  person  of  one  Ch'ai,j 
who  harassed  the  native  shipping  and  even  ventured  to  try  conclu- 
sions with  English  vessels.     Occasionally  he  attacked,  by  mistake,] 
boats  of  British  men-of-war,  and  in  one  case  actually  threw  a! 
large  fishing  net  over  the  crew  and  boat  of  the  Dover.     Thej 
boat  was  at  anchor  at  the  time  and  the  crew  were  asleep,  but  aroused] 
by  the  onslaught,  they  drew  their  cutlasses,  disentangled  themselves 
from  the  meshes  of  the  net,  and  promptly  put  the  pirates  to  flight.] 
Such  outrages  did  not  disturb  the  official  consciences  of  the  man- 
darins, but  an  event  happened  shortly  afterward  which  as  an  insult 
to  the  empire  roused  even  the  dull  sense  of  honor  possessed  by 
the  authorities.     The  time  had  arrived  for  the  payment  of  the 
Siamese  tribute,  and,  as  the  cargo  represented  by  this  act  of  fealty 
was  known  to  be  a  rich  one,  the  piratf^s  prepared  to  attack  the 
vessels,  and  to  lay  violent  hands  on  the  ^resents  intended  for  the 
imperial  use.     The  prospect  of  this  robbery  touched  the  imperial 
dignity,  and  a  request  was  made  to  the  English  at  Canton  that 
they  would  fit  out  a  vessel  to  save  the  Siamese  fleet  from  the  fate 
intended  for  it.     The  English  consented,  and  a  small,  though  fit, 
crew  manned  the  Mercury  for  the  venture.     The  result  was  emi- 
nently successful.    The  pirate  fleet  was  scattered  to  the  four  winds 
of  heaven,  and  the  Siamese  tribute  was  carried  safely  to  Peking. 

This  is  the  first,  but  by  no  means  the  only  instance,  in 
which  foreign  valor  has  saved  Chinese  honor.  In  the  case  of  the 
T'aip'ing  Rebellion,  its  suppression  in  1864  was  due  to  the  help 
England  afforded  to  the  imperial  forces.  The  Chinese  plume 
themselves  on  being  a  proud  nation,  but  when  danger  threatens 
they  descend  with  agility  from  their  pedestal  and  show  an  apt 
facility  of  falling  on  their  knees.  One  remarkable  instance  of 
this  was  furnished  during  the  war  of  1857,  when  Yeh,  while  de- 
fending Canton  against  the  English,  saw  fit  to  ask  help  from  his 
foes  to  suppress  a  native  rising  against  his  rule! 

But  though  glad  of  help  from  English  ships,  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  men-of-war  visiting  Canton  produced  a  disturb- 
ing influence  on  the  minds  of  Chiach'ing  and  his  followers.    The 


REIGN     OF     CHIACH'ING  119 

1796-1820 

war  in  Europe  made  it  increasingly  necessary  that  the  English 
men-of-war  should  be  available  for  the  protection  of  British  trade, 
and  the  seizure  of  Macao  in  1802,  and  again  in  181 3,  to  prevent 
the  settlement  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  produced 
violent  remonstrances  from  the  mandarins,  accompanied  by  threats 
that  the  trade  of  Canton  should  be  stopped  if  the  port  were  not 
evacuated.  The  same  hostile  spirit  marked  the  few  communica- 
tions which  passed  between  Peking  and  London  during  this  period. 
A  present  which  was  sent  to  an  official  who  had  been  civil  in  his 
dealings  with  Lord  Macartney  was  returned  with  scant  courtesy, 
and  a  letter,  addressed  by  Chiach'ing  to  Greorge  IIL,  was  marked 
by  all  the  stilted  arrogance  common  to  the  Chinese.  "  Your  Maj- 
esty's kingdom,"  wrote  the  emperor,  "  is  at  a  remote  distance 
beyond  the  seas,  but  is  observant  of  its  duties  and  obedience 
to  our  laws,  beholding  from  afar  the  glory  of  our  empire,  and 
respectfully  admiring  the  perfection  of  our  government.  Your 
Majesty  has  dispatched  messengers  with  letters  for  our  perusal; 
we  find  that  they  are  dictated  by  appropriate  sentiments  of  esteem 
and  veneration;  and  being  therefore  inclined  to  fulfill  the  wishes 
of  your  Majesty,  we  have  determined  to  accept  the  whole  of  the 
accompanying  offering.  With  regard  to  those  of  your  Majesty's 
subjects  who  for  a  long  course  of  years  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
trading  with  our  empire,  we  must  observe  to  you  that  our  Celestial 
Government  regards  all  persons  and  nations  with  eyes  of  charity 
and  benevolence,  and  always  treats  and  considers  your  subjects 
with  the  utmost  indulgence  and  affection ;  on  their  account,  there- 
fore, there  can  be  no  place  or  occasion  for  the  exertions  of  your 
Majesty's  Government." 

Being  of  very  inferior  ability  to  his  father  Chiach-ing  had  none 
of  the  breadth  of  mind  which  suggested  to  Ch'ienlung  the  toleration 
which  distinguished  that  emperor's  reign.  Being  uncertain  of  the 
respect  of  those  about  him,  he  was  more  punctilious  as  to  outward 
forms  and  ceremonies.  A  lack  of  the  spirit  of  veneration  is  often 
supplied  by  additional  scrupulousness  about  the  minutiae  of  ritual. 
Ch'ienlung  had  looked  upon  the  k'ot'ow  as  an  obeisance  commonly 
due  to  him,  but  in  receiving  Lord  Macartney's  mission  he  was 
wise  enough  to  recognize  that  it  might  be  given  up  without  any 
loss  of  dignity  on  his  part.  His  son  had  no  such  width  of  view, 
and  insisted  that  anyone  entering  his  presence,  whether  a  native 
or  a  foreigner,  should  go  through  the  formality  of  striking  the  head 


120  CHINA 

1796-1820 

on  the  ground.  His  persistence  in  this  matter  wrecked  two 
embassies  to  his  court.  In  1805  a  Russian  embassy,  under  Count 
Goloyken,  traveled  overland  on  the  way  to  Peking  and  reached 
the  Great  Wall  in  due  course.  Here  the  count  was  met  by  emis- 
saries from  Chiach'ing  who  informed  him  that  unless  he  would 
consent  to  perform  the  k'ot'ow  when  admitted  to  imperial  audiences 
he  might  save  himself  the  trouble  of  coming  any  further.  The 
ambassador  firmly  refused  so  to  degrade  himself,  and  as  the  only 
way  out  of  the  deadlock  was  to  return  whence  he  came,  he 
turned  his  camels'  heads  round  and  disappeared  across  the  desert. 
Eleven  years  later  George  IH.,  of  England,  determined  to  sen 
a  second  envoy  to  renew  the  negotiations  opened  by  Lord  Ma 
cartney.  For  this  important  mission  Lord  Amherst,  who  had 
distinguished  himself  at  many  courts,  was  chosen  as  the  king's 
representative.  Without  adventure  he  arrived  at  Tientsin,  where 
he  was  met  by  commissioners  who,  while  preserving  a  semblance 
of  courtesy,  began  at  once  to  raise  the  question  of  the  k'ot'ow. 
Day  after  day  with  wearisome  reiteration  they  brought  forward  the 
same  demands,  supported  by  what  they  were  good  enough  to  call 
arguments,  and  were  answered  in  the  same  words  based  on  the 
same  reasons.  At  one  time  it  looked  as  though  Lord  Amherst's 
fate  was  to  have  been  that  of  Count  Goloyken.  But  for  some  rea- 
son, possibly  the  prospect  of  receiving  presents  similar  to  those 
brought  by  Lord  Macartney,  Chiach'ing  was  evidently  desirous  that 
the  ambassador  should  be  admitted  into  his  presence,  and  hence, 
though  Lord  Amherst  was  firm  on  the  point  in  dispute,  he  was  al- 
lowed to  proceed  to  Tungchow,  within  twelve  miles  of  the  capital. 
Here  two  men  of  superior  rank  and  condition  met  him  and  at  once 
urged  him  to  consent  to  what  they  called  the  national  custom.  Lord 
Amherst  repeated  the  proposition  made  by  Lord  Macartney,  that 
if  a  mandarin  of  equal  rank  with  himself  would  k'ot'ow  to  a  portrait 
of  George  HI.  he  would  do  likewise  in  the  presence  of  Chiach'ing. 
This  concession  was  declined,  and  Lord  Amherst  next  proposed  that 
he  should  bow  low  nine  times  before  the  emperor,  while  the  courtiers 
performed  the  nine  prostrations  of  the  k'ot'ow.  This  also  was  de- 
clared to  be  inadmissible,  and  the  prospect  before  the  mission  became 
black  indeed.  To  Lord  Amherst's  surprise,  however,  Duke  Ho, 
the  chief  commissioner,  informed  him  that  the  emperor  had  given 
orders  for  the  mission  to  be  brought  to  Yuan-ming-yuan  on  the 
following  day.    The  journey,  barely  more  than  twenty  miles,  might 


le 

1 


REIGN    OF     CHIACH'ING  1«1 

1798-1820 

well  have  been  made  within  the  hours  of  daylight,  even  at  a  foot's 
pace.  But  as  if  to  aggravate  the  discomfort  of  the  ambassador,  Ho 
arranged  that  the  cavalcade  should  start  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  with  the  result  that  it  did  not  arrive  at  Yuan-ming-yuan 
until  daylight  on  the  next  morning.  While  weary  and  worn  with 
this  tedious  and  untimely  journey,  the  ambassador  and  his  suite 
were  hustled  into  a  small  room  where  they  were  subjected  to  the 
inquisitive  scrutiny  of  people  of  all  ranks,  who  treated  them,  in 
the  words  of  Ellis,  the  historian  of  the  mission,  with  "  brutal  rude- 
ness and  an  insulting  demeanor."  Lord  Amherst  was  still  further 
disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  Duke  Ho,  who  brought  a  message  from 
the  emperor  to  say  that  he  desired  to  see  the  ambassador  at  once. 
Lord  Amherst  expostulated  against  this  discourteous  demand,  and 
pleaded  his  fatigue  and  the  non-arrival  of  his  court  attire.  Ho, 
however,  was  doubly  and  anxiously  persistent,  and  even  attempted 
on  one  occasion  to  force  the  ambassador  into  the  emperor's  pres- 
ence. This  impertinence  was  resented  by  Lord  Amherst,  who  sent 
a  respectful  message  to  Chiach'ing,  informing  him  of  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  and  begging  to  be  allowed  time  to  recover  from 
his  fatigue  before  presenting  himself  in  the  august  presence.  A 
peremptory  answer  was  returned  to  this  very  reasonable  request, 
ordering  the  ambassador  at  once  to  set  out  for  Tungchow,  en  route 
to  Canton.  No  option  was  allowed  him,  and  he,  therefore,  shook 
the  dust  of  Peking  off  his  feet  and  turned  his  face  southward. 

It  is  only  due  to  Chiach'ing  to  say  that  his  natural  discourtesy 
toward  foreigners  was  aggravated  in  this  case  by  the  deceptions 
practiced  upon  him  by  his  ministers.  According  to  an  imperial 
edict,  published  after  Lord  Amherst's  departure,  it  appears  that 
Duke  Ho  had  reported  to  his  master  from  Tungchow  that  "  the 
English  tribute-bearer  was  daily  practicing  the  ceremony  [of 
k'ot'ow],  and  was  manifesting  the  highest  possible  respect  and 
veneration."  It  is  also  stated  on  the  imperial  word  that  Ho  had 
concealed  the  fact  that  Lord  Amherst  declined  the  audience  owing 
to  fatigue  after  his  journey,  and  represented  him  as  being  contuma- 
cious. For  these  offenses  Duke  Ho  was  fined  five  years*  salary 
and  was  stripped  of  his  yellow  jacket.  The  further  sentence  that 
he  should  be  deprived  of  all  his  offices,  the  emperor  was  graciously 
pleased  to  remit  in  consideration  of  his  many  services.  According 
to  the  emperor.  Ho  and  his  companion  Mu  were  overcome  with 
remorse  at  the  part  they  had  played,  and  when  introduced  into  the 


122  CHINA 

1796-1820 

imperial  presence  they  made  full  confession,  "  pulling  off  their  caps 
and  dashing  their  heads  against  the  ground."  It  is  possible  that 
this  demonstrative  contrition  may  have  had  the  effect  of  mitigating 
the  imperial  wrath. 

Another  and  a  remarkable  Englishman  suffered  at  about  the 
same  time  a  somewhat  similar  rebuff  on  the  part  of  the  Celestials. 
Manning,  who  was  a  considerable  Chinese  scholar,  arrived  at  Can- 
ton in  1 8 14,  inspired  by  the  vain  hope  that  his  knowledge  of  the 
language,  and  sympathy  with  the  people  would  gain  him  favor  in 
their  eyes.  He  was  soon  undeceived,  and,  disheartened  with  his 
failure,  left  Canton  for  India,  whence  he  traveled  into  Tibet.  Here 
better  fortune  attended  him.  He  gained  admission  into  Lhasa,  and 
thus  secured  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  Englishman  to  enter 
the  portals  of  that  sacred  city. 

The  remaining  years  of  Chiach'ing  were  few  and  evil,  and 
in  1820,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  death  overtook  him.  When  quite 
a  lad  he  showed  some  literary  talent  and  we  are  told  that  when 
thirteen  years  of  age,  on  the  occasion  of  his  father,  Ch'ienlung, 
examining  him  in  the  hall  of  Confucius,  "the  verses  that  might 
be  expected  from  a  boy  of  such  an  age  were  duly  composed."  But 
in  after  life  all  taste  for  literature  disappeared  and  he  found  his 
principal  amusement  in  the  society  of  actors.  Immediately  after 
the  morning  audience  it  was  his  wont  to  retire  to  his  private 
apartments,  where,  in  the  company  of  comedians,  he  sang  and 
played.  It  is  even  said  that  when  he  went  to  offer  the  sacred  sac- 
rifices to  Heaven  and  Earth  it  was  his  practice  to  take  some  of  his 
favorites  with  him.  With  the  courage  which  either  makes  or  mars 
a  Chinese  statesman  the  Minister  Sung  took  upon  himself  the  in- 
vidious task  of  remonstrating  with  his  liege  lord  on  the  impropriety 
of  these  habits.  This  reproval,  instead  of  producing  the  desired 
result,  only  irritated  Chiach'ing,  who,  however,  was  quite  unable 
to  deny  the  allegations  contained  in  the  accusing  memorial.  In 
answer  to  a  summons  calling  on  him  to  appear  before  his  angry 
master,  Sung  presented  himself  on  his  knees,  trembling.  After 
some  words  of  reproof  Chaich'ing  asked  the  minister  what  he  de- 
served for  the  crime  of  inculpating  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  "  Quar- 
tering," was  the  answer.  After  an  interval  which  must  have 
contained  anxious  moments  for  Sung,  the  same  question  was  re- 
peated, and  the  minister,  regarding  the  repetition  as  a  sign  of  miti- 
gating wrath,  replied :   "  Let  me  be  beheaded."    Yet  a  third  time 


I 


REIGN    OF    CHIACH'ING  1J8S 

1796-1820 

the  question  was  put.  "Let  me  be  strangled,"  was  the  answer. 
At  these  words  Sung  was  dismissed  from  the  audience  chamber,  and 
the  next  day  received  the  appointment  of  governor  of  the  province 
of  Hi,  where,  in  the  opinion  of  his  imperial  master,  he  would  be 
unable  to  pry  into  the  amusements  of  the  palace,  and  would  at  the 
same  time  be  powerless  to  plead  that  the  emperor  had  trampled 
on  the  traditional  rights  of  ministers  to  expostulate  with  erring 
sovereigns. 

Chiach'ing  was  of  an  indolent  disposition,  and  was  incapable 
of  opposing  the  more  violent  spirits  who  disturbed  the  peace  of  the 
empire  during  the  quarter  of  a  century  that  he  sat  on  the  throne. 
The  faults  of  his  father  were  exaggerated  in  him,  and  he  had  none 
of  those  virtues  which  added  luster  to  the  long  reign  of  Ch'ienlung. 
It  is  customary  for  an  emperor  on  ascending  the  throne  to  publish 
an  edict  containing  an  obituary  notice  of  his  predecessor.  The 
statements  contained  in  such  documents  are  probably  no  truer  than 
epitaphs  generally  are,  but  it  is  only  fair  to  Chiach'ing  that  we 
should  glance  at  the  other  side  of  the  shield  and  should  listen  to 
what  his  son,  Taokwang,  who  saved  his  life  on  the  occasion  of  the 
attack  of  his  sacred  person  in  the  palace,  has  to  say  on  behalf  of  his 
august  father.  "  His  late  Majesty,"  wrote  Taokwang,  "  who  has 
now  gone  the  great  journey,  governed  all  under  Heaven's  canopy 
during  twenty-five  years,  exercising  the  utmost  caution  and  in- 
dustry. Nor  evening  nor  morning  was  he  ever  idle.  He  assidu- 
ously aimed  at  the  best  possible  rule,  and  hence  his  government 
was  excellent  and  illustrious;  the  court  and  the  country  felt  the 
deepest  reverence  for  him,  and  the  stillness  of  profound  awe.  A 
benevolent  heart  and  a  benevolent  administration  were  universally 
diffused;  in  China  proper,  as  well  as  beyond  it,  order  and  tran- 
quillity prevailed,  and  the  tens  of  thousands  of  common  people 
were  all  happy.  But  in  the  midst  of  the  hope  that  this  glorious  reign 
would  be  long  protracted,  and  the  help  of  Heaven  would  be  re- 
ceived many  days,  unexpectedly,  on  descending  to  bless  by  his 
Majesty's  presence  Lwanyang  [in  Tartary],  the  Dragon  Charioteer 
(the  holy  emperor)  became  a  guest  on  high." 

In  1820  the  Emperor  Taokwang  ascended  the  throne  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  will  of  his  father,  who  to  his  dying  day  never  forgot 
that  he  owed  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  to  Mienning's  courage 
and  skill.  That  prince,  who  adopted  the  title  of  Taokwang,  was 
born  in  1781,  and  was  therefore  thirty-nine  years  of  age  when  he 


124  CHINA 

1820-1834 

was  proclaimed  emperor.  Though  a  favorite  of  his  father,  he  was 
not  a  persona  grata  with  the  ladies  of  the  harem,  more  especially 
with  the  concubine  who  had  succeeded  his  mother  in  the  imperial 
dignity.  During  the  lifetime  of  his  mother  there  had  been  much 
ill-blood  between  these  two  ladies,  and  the  first  empress  is  said  to 
have  died  in  a  paroxysm  of  rage  caused  by  the  aggressive  con- 
duct of  her  successor,  who  revenged  herself  on  Prince  Mienning 
for  the  many  slights  which  she  had  endured  by  imposing  on  him 
all  the  indignities  which  it  was  in  her  power  to  inflict. 

In  early  life  Taokwang  had  been  passionately  devoted  to  mar- 
tial exercises,  in  pursuit  of  which  he  is  said  to  have  fortified  his 
muscles  by  taking  certain  strengthening  medicines,  which  were 
reputed  to  have  destroyed  his  teeth  and  so  to  have  given  to  his  jaw 
the  peculiar  character  which  it  possessed.  In  figure  he  was  tall, 
lank,  and  hollow-cheeked,  and  of  a  dark  complexion.  His  habits 
were  quiet  and  retired,  and  he  was  not  credited  with  any  great 
talent  for  business.  In  after  life,  however,  he  proved  himself  quite 
capable  of  holding  his  own  with  his  ministers.  One  of  his  first  acts 
showed  his  disapproval  of  the  policy  of  his  father,  of  whose  wis- 
dom he  had  proclaimed  himself  such  an  ardent  admirer  in  his 
edicts.  He  recalled  Sung  from  his  banishment  in  Hi,  and  gave 
notice  to  quit  to  the  comedians  and  others  to  whom  Chiach'ing  had 
given  such  a  hospitable  welcome  in  the  palace.  The  members  of 
his  father's  harem  were  also  sent  home  to  their  relatives,  and  his 
wife  was  proclaimed  empress. 

Unfortunately  "  the  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them,"  and 
the  result  of  Chiach'ing's  lax  and  discreditable  rule  was  to  leave  a 
heritage  of  woe  to  his  successor.  Pestilence,  famine,  and  war 
dogged  Taokwang's  footsteps,  and  no  more  uneasy  head  ever  wore 
a  crown  than  his.  The  feeble  hand  of  his  predecessor  had  so 
weakened  the  authority  of  the  law  that  stringent  measures  had  to 
be  adopted  for  the  preservation  of  peace  and  order.  The  same 
spirit  of  misrule  which  he  found  prevailing  in  the  provinces  had 
extended  beyond  the  frontier  into  those  regions  of  Mongolia  where 
K'anghsi  had  fought  and  conquered.  Here  the  standard  of  revolt 
was  raised  by  a  chieftain  named  Jehangir,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Kashgar,  where  recruits,  tempted  by  the  reported  weakness  of 
the  Chinese  power,  flocked  readily  to  his  ranks.  At  first  all  went 
well  with  the  rebel,  who  took  and  occupied  Kashgar,  putting  the 
Chinese  garrison  to  the  sword.    But,  as  so  often  had  happened  in 


REIGN     OF     CHIACH'ING  126 

1820-1834 

Chinese  campaigns  in  central  Asia,  the  weight  of  men  and  steady 
perseverance  of  the  Celestials  ultimately  carried  the  day,  and 
Jehangir  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  Peking.  There  the  tradi- 
tional fate  of  all  such  rebels  overtook  him,  and  he  was  hanged, 
drawn,  and  quartered. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  during  the  reign  of  K'anghsi  the 
Russian  garrison  of  Albazin  had  been  brought  to  Peking  as  pris- 
oners, and  had  there  remained  living  among  the  natives  of  the 
capital  as  fellow-citizens.  At  stated  intervals  Russia  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  sending  unofficial  envoys  with  sums  of  money  for  the 
maintenance  of  these  colonists.  A  communication  was  in  this  way 
periodically  kept  up  between  these  two  empires,  and  was  still  further 
fostered  by  a  treaty  in  1728  for  the  establishment  of  a  Russian 
college  at  Peking,  where  students  studied  for  ten  years  the  Chinese 
and  Manchu  languages.  In  the  first  year  of  Taokwang's  accession 
a  certain  Timkowski  arrived  at  Peking  on  this  eleemosynary  mis- 
sion, and  though  the  name  of  foreigner  stank  in  the  nostrils  of 
Taokwang,  he  was  allowed  to  remain  until  he  had  fulfilled  his 
charitable  duties.  The  same  tolerance,  however,  was  not  extended 
to  the  Portuguese  officials  employed  in  the  astronomical  depart- 
ment at  Peking,  who,  though  they  had  been  allowed  to  remain  by 
Chiach'ing,  were  summarily  dismissed  by  his  successor. 

Meanwhile,  in  that  hotbed  of  rebellion,  the  island  of  Formosa, 
disorders  broke  out  and  were  quelled,  though  with  difficulty,  partly 
by  crushing  cruelty  and  partly  by  the  seductive  lure  of  official 
bribery.  By  Chinese  statesmen  the  islands  and  outlying  districts 
of  the  empire  are  comparatively  lightly  esteemed,  and  it  is  only 
when  the  soil  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  proper  is  tampered 
with  that  their  patriotism  is  aroused.  With  seemingly  little  effort 
the  Chinese  released  Formosa  and  the  Pescadores  to  Japan  in  1895, 
but  it  might  fairly  be  questioned  whether  they  would  not  have 
fought  to  the  death  for  a  single  province  of  the  sacred  eighteen. 
So  it  was  on  this  occasion,  and  both  in  Formosa  and  Hainan,  where 
there  were  simultaneous  outbreaks,  the  imperial  commanders 
patched  up  a  peace  without  troubling  themselves  to  attempt  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  any  lasting  tranquillity.  But  a  rising  among  the 
Miaotzu  tribes,  which  occurred  about  the  same  time,  was  a  very 
different  matter.  The  viceroy  of  the  province  of  Kwangtung  was 
sent  against  them,  and  when  he  failed  through  incompetence  and 
cowardice,   Hsi   An,   Taokwang's   father-in-law,  was  ordered  to 


1S6 


CHINA 


1820-1834 

take  the  field.  Fortunately  for  this  chieftain,  who  neither  in  a 
public  nor  private  capacity  bore  a  good  character,  he  was  given 
the  immediate  command  of  Hunan  troops,  the  best  fighting  material 
in  China.  With  these  soldiers  he  was  successful.  He  harried  the 
Miaotzu,  burned  their  villages,  and  drove  the  survivors  to  the  moun- 
tain tops.  The  tribes  resisted  for  a  time,  but  at  last  made  their 
submission,  and  received  from  the  hands  of  the  conquerors  the  bitter 
•terms  which  are  commonly  meted  out  to  defeated  rebels  in  Oriental 
lands. 

Taokwang  was  no  more  fortunate  in  his  private  life  than  he 
was  in  his  public  career.  The  news  of  the  outbreaks  above  men- 
tioned reached  him  at  a  time  when  he  was  suffering  from  severe 
domestic  bereavement.  In  1831  he  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  both 
his  empress  and  his  only  son.  Accounts  differ  as  to  how  the  latter 
met  his  end.  That  he  was  a  debauched  and  vicious  youth  all  au- 
thorities agree  in  affirming,  and  while  by  some  it  is  said  that  his 
death  was  due  to  opium  smoking,  it  is  also  commonly  reported  that 
he  received  his  deathblow  from  his  father,  who,  enraged  at  his 
misconduct,  raised  his  hand  against  him. 

During  these  and  other  absorbing  anxieties  Taokwang  had 
little  time  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  English  residents  at  Canton. 
They  were  allowed  to  pursue  the  somewhat  uneven  tenor  of  their 
way  without  incurring  any  additional  penalties  from  Peking.  All 
their  communications  with  the  authorities  passed  through  the  hands 
of  a  committee  of  native  merchants,  known  as  the  Cohong,  and  any 
written  statement  was  on  compulsion  made  in  the  form  of  a  petition. 
Ladies  were  forbidden  to  reside  in  the  settlement,  and  a  permit, 
costing  from  $350  to  $500,  was  necessary  to  enable  a  merchant 
to  visit  his  family  at  Macao,  the  nearest  place  where  it  was 
possible  for  ladies  and  children  to  live.  Notwithstanding  these 
and  countless  other  disabilities,  the  number  of  resident  mer- 
chants steadily  increased,  and  the  shipping  returns  went  up  with 
corresponding  certainty.  It  was  plain,  therefore,  that  the  growing 
importance  of  the  port  would  soon  render  it  impossible  that  the 
existing  state  of  things  could  be  endured  much  longer,  and  an  op- 
portunity shortly  presented  itself  of  putting  matters  on  a  more  satis- 
factory footing. 


Chapter  VII 

FOREIGN    RELATIONS    AND  THE    OPIUM    WAR    WITH 
ENGLAND.     1834-1850 

THE  charter  of  the  East  India  Company,  which  had  been 
granted  by  Charles  L,  was  about  to  expire  in  April,  1834. 
The  importance  of  the  trade  made  it  impolitic  to  renew 
the  charter,  and  the  government  therefore  determined  to  take  over 
the  administration  of  affairs  at  Canton.  The  old  order  of  things 
must,  they  felt,  pass  away,  and  they  decided  to  emphasize  this 
change  by  appointing  a  representative  who,  it  was  hoped,  would  be 
able  to  deal  directly  with  the  highest  provincial  authorities.  Lord 
Napier  was  chosen  for  this  very  difficult  post,  and  received  a  com- 
mission from  the  king  dated  Brighton,  December  10,  1833,  in  which 
his  "  loyalty,  integrity,  and  skill  "  were  justly  lauded.  With  Lord 
Napier  were  associated  two  officials  as  sub-commissioners.  Lord 
Napier's  instructions,  which  were  drafted  by  Lord  Palmerston,  were 
precise.  "  Your  lordship,"  so  they  ran,  "  will  announce  your  ar- 
rival at  Canton  by  letters  to  the  viceroy.  In  addition  to  the  duty  of 
protecting  and  fostering  trade  at  Canton,  it  will  be  one  of  your 
principal  objects  to  ascertain  whether  it  may  not  be  practicable  to 
extend  that  trade  to  other  parts  of  the  Chinese  dominions.  It  is 
obvious  that  with  a  view  to  the  attainment  of  this  object  the  estab- 
lishment of  direct  communication  with  the  court  of  Peking  would 
be  most  desirable." 

Lord  Napier's  course  was  therefore  laid  plainly  before  him, 
and  on  arriving  on  the  China  coast  he  proceeded  at  once  direct  to 
Canton.  At  this  act  of  presumption,  as  it  was  described,  the 
mandarins  were  furious,  and  so  serious  a  view  did  the  superintend- 
ent of  customs  take  of  it,  that  he  proposed  to  the  viceroy  that  the 
foreign  trade  of  the  port  should  be  suspended  in  consequence.  The 
viceroy  on  his  part  refused  to  receive  Lord  Napier's  letter  announc- 
ing his  arrival,  and  justified  his  conduct  by  stating  that  the  great 
ministers  of  the  empire  were  forbidden  to  hold  communication 
with  Barbarians  except  on  certain  specified  subjects.     Hitherto,  so 

127 


128  CHINA 

1834 

argued  the  officials,  the  leading  Englishman  had  been  a  Taipan,  or 
head  merchant,  and  there  never  had  been  such  a  thing  as  a  corre- 
spondence to  and  fro  with  a  "Barbarian  Eye"  (minister).  The 
attitude  thus  assumed  by  the  local  authorities  was  highly  com- 
mended by  the  viceroy,  who  considered  that  it  manifested  "  a  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  great  principles  of  dignity." 

The  juncture  at  which  Lord  Napier  arrived  was  an  unfortunate 
one.  The  government  had  been  much  alarmed  at  the  drain  of 
silver  consequent  on  the  foreign  trade,  more  especially  in  opium, 
and  a  report  had  lately  been  made  to  the  throne  that  60,000,000 
taels  were  annually  lost  to  the  empire  by  the  foreign  connection. 
Already  there  had  grown  up  a  pronounced  opposition  to  the  opium 
trade  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  highest  officials,  and  during  the 
reign  of  Chiach'ing  more  than  one  memorial  had  been  presented 
to  the  throne  proclaiming  the  evils  which  were  supposed  to  result 
from  the  use  of  the  drug.  But  however  strong  the  feelings  of  in- 
dividuals on  the  subject  might  be,  interests  were  at  work  which 
militated  against  any  direct  action  toward  prohibiting  the  traffic. 
The  use  of  the  pipe  had  spread  to  almost  every  yamen  in  the 
empire,  and  already  large  areas  of  the  country  were  devoted  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  poppy.  In  the  province  of  Yunnan  several 
thousands  of  chests  of  opium  were  produced  annually,  and  in  other 
provinces  vast  tracts  were  sown  with  poppy  seeds.  The  drug  had 
thus  taken  a  hold  upon  the  nation,  and  it  moderates  our  views  as 
to  the  injurious  nature  of  opium  when  we  observe  that  after  so 
many  years  the  evils  arising  from  it  are  so  difficult  to  trace.  But 
at  the  time  when  the  charter  of  the  East  India  Company  was 
abolished,  there  was  another  and  a  stronger  reason  why  the  local 
authorities  at  Canton  and  elsewhere  were  either  openly  or  privately 
in  favor  of  the  continuance  of  the  traffic.  During  the  reign  of 
Chiach'ing  opium  was  recognized  as  an  article  of  trade,  and  paid 
duty  at  the  rate  of  three  taels  per  hundred  catties.^ 

Subsequently,  however,  the  trade  had  been  declared  illegal,  and 
as  it  was  plainly  impossible  to  prevent  the  importation  of  the  drug, 
a  wide  door  was  opened  for  the  energy  and  daring  of  smugglers. 
These  men  were  tacitly  recognized  by  the  local  mandarins,  who 
drew  large,  though  irregular,  incomes  in  return  for  their  benevo- 
lent inaction.  The  natural  result  followed.  While  occasional  cen- 
sors exposed  possible  and  impossible  evils  of  opium  smoking,  and 
while  the  emperor  fulminated  edicts  against  the  practice,  the  officials 
*  One  catty  equals  one  and  one-third  pounds. 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  129 

1834 

throughout  the  country,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  counte- 
nanced the  importation  of  the  "  foreign  dirt " ;  and  in  inland  dis- 
tricts, where  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  supplies  from  the  coast,  native 
farmers  profitably  supplied  the  officials  and  people  with  the  means 
of  indulging  in  the  pipe. 

But  though  these  influences  led,  in  the  face  of  imperial  edicts, 
to  a  continuance  of  the  opium  traffic,  the  supercilious  conceit  of 
the  government  induced  them  to  put  a  stop  to  the  legitimate  trade 
of  the  port  as  a  protest  against  what  they  were  good  enough  to  call 
the  highly  improper  conduct  of  Lord  Napier  in  forcing  his  way 
to  Canton  without  having  given  due  notice  of  his  approach.  The 
minister  and  his  countrymen  were,  in  consequence,  kept  virtually 
prisoners  within  the  limits  of  the  foreign  settlement.  The  native 
servants  in  their  employ  deserted  them,  and  the  boatmen  refused 
to  carry  either  them  or  their  goods.  In  this  way  matters  came  to  a 
deadlock,  and  the  viceroy  had  the  further  insolence  to  issue  a  notice 
containing  a  series  of  regulations  designed  for  the  management  of 
the  "  Outer  Barbarians."  Among  these  ordinances  was  one  for- 
bidding ships  of  war  to  sail  into  the  inner  seas  of  the  empire;  an- 
other prohibited  foreigners  from  "  stealthily  transporting  muskets 
and  cannon,  or  clandestinely  bringing  up  foreign  women  or  foreign 
sailors  " ;  and  yet  another  proclaimed  that  idly  rambling  about  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  settlement  could  not  be  allowed  for  a  moment. 
To  this  and  other  such  documents  Lord  Napier  deemed  it  advisable 
to  utter  a  counter  blast,  and  in  a  public  notice  to  the  Chinese  mer- 
chants he  wrote :  "  The  merchants  of  Great  Britain  wish  to  trade 
with  all  China  on  principles  of  mutual  benefit ;  they  will  never  relax 
in  their  exertions  till  they  gain  the  point  of  equal  importance  to 
both  countries,  and  the  viceroy  will  find  it  as  easy  to  stop  the 
current  of  the  Canton  River  as  to  carry  into  effect  the  insane  de- 
terminations of  the  Hong." 

In  this  stress  of  circumstances  and  anxieties  Lord  Napier's 
health  most  unfortunately  gave  way,  and  he  retired  to  Macao  for 
rest  and  further  medical  advice.  His  departure  from  Canton  was 
regarded  as  a  triumph  by  the  mandarins,  who  at  once  signalized 
the  event  by  removing  the  embargo  on  trade.  Unfortunately  the 
change  from  Canton  to  Macao  was  too  late  to  save  Lord  Napier's 
life,  and  he  died  there  on  October  ii,  1834.  Meanwhile,  the  Brit- 
ish merchants  at  Canton  had  presented  a  petition  to  the  British 
Government,  praying  that  steps  might  be  taken  effectively  to  open 


180  CHINA 

1834-1836 

the  Chinese  Empire  to  trade,  and  to  place  the  foreign  communities 
on  terms  of  equality  with  the  merchants  of  the  country.  This 
document  was  firmly  and  judiciously  worded.  The  writers  recog- 
nized the  unwarrantable  pretensions  of  the  Chinese  Government, 
and  even  more  the  folly  of  attempting  to  propitiate  the  officials 
by  yielding  to  their  demands. 

In  response  to  this  document  Captain  Elliot  was  appointed  in 
1836  to  take  up  the  duties  vacated  by  the  death  of  Lord  Napier. 
On  arriving  at  Macao  he  communicated  with  the  governor  of 
Canton,  announcing  his  arrival,  and  asking  for  the  usual  permit 
for  admission  to  the  provincial  capital.  But  though  the  mandarins 
readily  gave  this  permission,  as  they  fully  recognized  the  ad- 
vantage of  having  a  representative  of  the  merchants  with  whom 
they  could  negotiate,  they  were  yet  in  no  way  disposed  to  recognize 
Captain  Elliot  as  anything  more  than  a  superior  supercargo,  and 
chose  to  insist  that  all  communications  from  him  should  be  in  the 
form  of  Pin,  or  petitions.  This  claim  was  clearly  inadmissible,  and 
as  Captain  Elliot  insisted  on  his  right  to  use  the  forms  commonly 
employed  among  civilized  nations,  matters  came  once  more  to  a 
deadlock.  Seeing  that  nothing  would  be  gained  by  remaining 
at  Canton,  Captain  Elliot  retired  to  Macao;  all  trade  was  then 
stopped,  and  the  merchants  who  chose  to  remain  in  the  settlement 
were  confined  within  its  limits. 

Meanwhile  a  brisk  discussion  was  carried  on  in  the  pages  of 
the  Peking  Gazette  on  the  vexed  question  of  the  opium  trade.  It 
was  strongly  held  that  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  the  drug,  and  that  an  advantage  would  be  derived  on  all  sides 
by  legalizing  the  traffic.  The  evils  of  smuggling  were  further  en- 
larged upon  by  these  advocates,  and,  as  was  afterward  argued  by 
Lord  Elgin  when  making  the  treaty  of  1858,  it  was  put  forward 
that  it  would  be  far  better  to  place  the  trade  under  official  control 
than  that  it  should  be  carried  on  by  illicit  means  amid  scenes  of  vio- 
lence and  strife.  The  opponents  of  this  statesmanlike  suggestion 
broke  out  into  wild  oratory  against  the  evils  of  the  habit,  and  af- 
firmed that  the  English  had  deliberately  introduced  the  "  foreign 
dirt  "  into  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  so  debilitating  the  people  as 
to  leave  them  incapable  of  resisting  the  demands  of  the  "  Outer 
Barbarians."  This  line  of  argument  was  only  another  version  of 
a  remark  made  by  the  Emperor  K'anghsi  long  before  the  question 
of  opium  had  arisen,  namely,  that  "  there  was  cause  for  apprehen- 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS 


131 


1834-1836 


sion  lest,  in  the  centuries  or  millenniums  to  come,  China  may  be 
endangered  by  collisions  with  the  various  nations  of  the  West,  who 
come  hither  from  beyond  the  seas." 

The  opium  question  was,  as  events  fully  demonstrated,  only 

f  used  by  the  officials  as  a  convenient  weapon  with  which  to  attack 
the  foreigner.  The  refusal  of  the  governor  to  receive  communica- 
tions from  Captain  Elliot  except  in  the  form  of  petitions;  the  ri- 
diculous regulations  which  he  laid  down  for  the  management  of 

^.  the  merchants  at  Canton;  and  the  sumptuary  laws  which  it  was 
attempted  to  enact  for  their  guidance — all  point  to  the  real  object 
of  the  mandarins,  which  was  to  drive  the  obnoxious  foreigner  out 
of  the  country.  There  was  something  particularly  hypocritical  in 
the  horror  professed  by  the  mandarins  at  the  continuance  of  the 
opium  traffic,  when  we  call  to  mind  that  along  the  entire  coast-line 
of  China  from  Canton  to  Tientsin  the  drug  was  smuggled  openly 
by  the  officials  and  others;  and  that  it  was  only  in  Canton  and  the 
neighborhood  that  any  attempt  was  ever  made  to  check  the  practice. 
The  mandarins  made  much  of  the  number  of  foreign  schooners 
which  landed  opium  along  the  coast.  But  these,  compared  with  the 
native  customs  cruisers  and  other  vessels  which  performed  the 
same  service,  were  in  number  as  one  to  many  thousands.  While 
the  governor  at  Canton  was  professing  righteous  indignation  at 
the  villainy  of  the  English  opium  traders  it  was  an  open  secret  that 
his  own  son  was  daily  smuggling  cargoes  in  official  vessels  within 
his  father's  jurisdiction.     Our  sympathy  with  the  protestors  is 

{,  seriously  diminished  by  this  evident  insincerity,  and  by  the  consid- 
eration that,  though,  according  to  them,  the  practice  of  opium 
smoking  had  become  general  throughout  the  empire,  the  energy 
of  the  merchants,  the  scholarship  of  the  Literati,  and  the  industry 
of  the  people,  remained  unabated.  As  we  have  already  seen, 
Taokwang's  son  was  a  habitual  opium  smoker,  and  it  would  have 
been  more  to  the  purpose  if,  instead  of  emptying  all  the  vials  of  his 
wrath  on  the  heads  of  the  foreigners,  the  emperor  had  employed 
real  and  vigorous  measures  against  the  practice  which  he  denounced, 
against  the  smuggling  of  the  drug  by  natives,  and  against  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  poppy  which  was  already  largely  engaging  the 
attention  of  native  farmers. 

It  is  difficult  under  the  circumstances  to  regard  the  professions 
of  the  anti-opium  Chinese  as  being  genuine  and  there  is  probabil- 
ity that  the  government  deliberately  chose  to  make  a  stalking 


132  CHINA 

1836-1837 

horse  of  the  trade  for  the  purpose  of  effectively  exciting  popular 
feeling  against  foreigners.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy,  Taokwang 
appointed  Commissioner  Lin  to  proceed  to  Canton  with  orders  to 
legislate  on  all  questions  in  dispute  between  the  local  officials  and 
the  "  Outer  Barbarians."  Within  a  week  of  his  arrival,  Lin,  with 
that  impetuosity  which  distinguished  him,  issued  a  peremptory 
order  to  the  foreign  merchants,  over  whom  he  had  of  course  no 
control,  charging  them  to  deliver  up  all  the  opium  in  their  posses- 
sion. So  powerless  were  the  traders,  and  so  long  had  they  been 
habituated  to  the  dictatorial  and  violent  methods  of  the  Chinese, 
that  they  were  induced  to  surrender  over  a  thousand  chests  of  the 
drug,  in  response  to  the  emperor's  demand.  This  quantity  was 
promptly  declared  to  be  insufficient  by  the  commissioner,  who, 
at  the  same  time,  sent  a  message  to  one  of  the  leading  merchants 
named  Dent,  asking  him  to  meet  him  for  consultation  at  one  of 
the  city  gates.  Former  experience  had  shown  that  to  yield  to  such 
an  invitation  was  simply  to  place  the  guest  in  the  hands  of  the 
mandarins  as  a  prisoner  and  a  hostage,  and  Dent,  therefore,  natu- 
rally declined  to  venture  into  Lin's  clutches  unless  that  official  would 
give  him  a  written  guarantee  that  he  would  be  allowed  to  return 
at  pleasure  to  the  settlement.  Fortunately  the  commissioner  had 
sufficient  honesty  to  decline  to  pledge  his  word  with  the  deliberate 
intention  of  breaking  it,  and  Dent  refused  to  place  himself  in  a 
position  of  so  much  danger.  Although  it  was  now  plainly  im- 
possible that  the  relations  between  the  two  countries  could  be  con- 
tinued on  peaceable  lines,  Captain  Elliot  returned  to  Canton  in  the 
vain  hope  of  being  able  to  arrange  a  modus  vivendi.  His  reappear- 
ance on  the  scene  caused  much  excitement  among  the  officials,  and 
orders  were  instantly  given  to  beleaguer  the  foreign  settlement. 
The  narrow  lanes  and  outlets  leading  into  the  city  were  walled  up; 
all  communication  with  the  outer  world  on  the  land  side  was  cut 
off;  and  steps  were  taken  to  prevent  foreign  vessels  from  leaving 
the  anchorage.  The  position  was  one  which  might  well  have  been 
brought  to  a  head  by  a  more  determined  and  resourceful  man 
than  Captain  Elliot,  to  whom  the  only  remedy  which  presented 
itself  was  that  of  yielding  to  the  Chinese  demands.  With  unfortu- 
nate acquiescence  he  issued  a  proclamation  ordering  the  English 
merchants  to  deliver  up  the  supplies  of  opium  in  their  possession. 
Recognizing  the  weakness  of  the  opponent  with  whom  he  had  to 
deal,  Lin  had  further  the  progressive  assurance  to  publish  a  notifica- 


FOREIGN    RELATIONS  133 

1837-1839 

tion  Stating  that  so  soon  as  one-fourth  of  the  opium  was  handed 
over,  the  servants  who  had  been  ordered  to  desert  the  settlement 
should  be  allowed  to  return  to  their  foreign  masters;  that  when 
half  was  given  up  the  passage  boats  should  again  be  made  available ; 
and  that  when  three-quarters  had  been  surrendered,  trade  should 
be  resumed.  He  further  threatened  that  if  these  conditions  were 
not  complied  with  within  three  days  the  supply  of  fresh  water 
would  be  cut  ofif,  that  in  yet  another  three  days  all  food  would  be 
denied  to  the  merchants,  and  that  the  last  degree  of  severity  would 
attend  a  further  delay. 

In  these  circumstances  and  in  obedience  to  Captain  Elliot's 
circular  20,283  chests  of  the  drug  were  handed  over  to  the  Chinese 
authorities  by  British  merchants.  As  long  experience  has  shown,  to 
yield  to  Chinese  bluster  entails  only  the  advance  of  still  further 
demands,  and  the  infliction  of  still  greater  indignities.  In  the  pres- 
ent instance  Lin  rewarded  Captain  Elliot's  complacency  by  claim- 
ing the  right  to  punish  Europeans  for  crimes  committed  on  Chinese 
soil,  and  expressed  the  greatest  indignation  when,  after  a  sailors* 
riot  in  which  one  or  two  Chinese  lost  their  lives,  his  demand  to 
have  the  English  disturbers  of  the  peace  handed  over  to  him  was 
refused.  The  unwarrantable  tone  which  he  had  taken  up  from  the 
first  made  it  hopeless  to  attempt  to  carry  on  relations  with  him,  and 
he  further  provoked  war  by  calling  on  his  countrymen  to  arm  them- 
selves against  the  foreigners.  The  inevitable  result  was  not  long 
delayed,  and  on  November  3,  1839,  a  naval  engagement  was  fought 
at  Chuanpi,  in  which  a  number  of  Chinese  junks  were  sunk  and 
destroyed. 

This  event  in  no  way  shook  Lin's  faith  in  himself  and  his 
countrymen,  and  with  hardened  assurance  he  issued  a  proclamation 
in  which  he  claimed  to  possess  such  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
divine  intentions  that  he  was  able  to  announce  that  the  imperial 
dynasty  continued  to  repose  under  the  direct  protection  of  Heaven, 
and  that  all  those  who  should  be  presumptuous  enough  to  oppose  its 
will  would  inevitably  be  overtaken  by  Celestial  vengeance.  Events 
which  were  now  hurrying  on  must  have  convinced  him,  if  he  had 
been  capable  of  reasoning,  that  at  all  events  the  god  of  battles  was 
on  the  side  of  the  big  ships  of  the  enemies  of  his  master.  But  not 
only  had  Lin's  policy  been  unfortunate  in  bringing  defeats  on  the 
Chinese,  but  his  commercial  strategy  had  had  exactly  the  opposite 
result  to  that  which  was  intended.      The  destruction  of  the  foreign 


CHINA 


1839-1841 


opium  at  Canton  led  to  a  vigorous  revival  of  the  trade,  smugglers 
multiplied,  and  the  traffic  flourished  as  it  had  never  flourished  be- 
fore, in  spite  of  the  fact  that  three  native  victims  were  sacrificed  on 
the  altar  of  Lin's  patriotism. 

In  the  summer  of  1841  Sir  Gordon  Bremer,  the  English  ad- 
miral, blockaded  Canton,  and  then  sailed  northward  to  attack 
Tinghai,  the  chief  town  on  the  island  of  Chusan.  The  result  was 
an  engagement  such  as  has  become  typical.  The  defense  of  the 
fortifications  was  little  more  than  momentary,  and  under  cover 
of  night  the  garrison  took  to  their  heels.  From  Ningpo  the 
fleet  sailed  to  Taku  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  where  Captain 
Elliot  was  met  by  Kishen,  the  governor  general  of  Chihli. 
This  mandarin  was  one  of  the  leading  officials  in  the  empire, 
and  his  career  is  so  suggestive  of  the  vicissitudes  which  attend 
Oriental  administrators  that  it  is  worth  relating.  The  son  of 
an  official  who  obeyed  Ch'ienlung,  he  was  given  an  appointment 
when  barely  twenty  years  of  age.  Seven  years  later  he  was  made 
secretary  to  a  provincial  governor ;  and  at  the  age  of  forty  he  was 
appointed  viceroy  of  Szech'uan,  and  in  1830  he  was  promoted  to 
the  viceroyalty  of  the  metropolitan  province.  So  far  his  fortunes 
had  been  in  the  ascendant,  but  reverses  quickly  followed.  When, 
as  will  be  shortly  seen,  Lin  was  disgraced,  Kishen  was  sent  as  com- 
missioner to  Canton  with  the  additional  office  of  viceroy  of  the 
two  Kwang  provinces.  Foreign  policy  has  in  many  cases  been  the  | 
rock  upon  which  the  careers  of  Chinese  statesmen  have  been 
wrecked.  And  it  was  so  with  Kishen,  who  so  deeply  incurred  the 
anger  of  his  imperial  master  that  he  was  sent  in  chains  to  Peking, 
there  to  answer  for  his  crimes.  After  a  formal  trial  he  was  con- 
demned to  hard  labor  in  the  province  of  Hi,  and  to  the  confiscation 
of  his  property.  This  last  penalty  was  a  cruel  blow  to  the  offender, 
for,  like  many  mandarins  who  have  been  long  officeholders,  he  had 
great  possessions.  Years  afterward  the  imperial  wrath  was  so  far 
mitigated  that  a  partial  pardon  was  granted  to  him,  and  he  was  later 
appointed  to  the  office  of  assistant  resident  at  Yarkand. 

His  association  with  Captain  Elliot  at  Taku  was  the  first  step 
toward  his  fall,  although  at  the  moment  he  unquestionably  gained 
a  temporary  advantage  over  his  opponent.  The  arrival  of  the  fleet 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho  had  alarmed  the  court,  and  Kishen's 
first  object  was  to  induce  Captain  Elliot  to  relieve  the  imperial  fears.] 
by  returning  to  Canton.     With  the  same  mistaken  complacency 


RATIFICATION    OF    Mil.    I  KKATY    CF.DING    THE   ISLAND   OF    HONG-KONG    TO 

TllK     K.NGLISH,    JANUARY    20,    184I 

Painting  by  R.  Ctiton  Woodville 


e  . 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  135 

1839-1841 

which  had  induced  the  English  minister  to  listen  to  Lin's  com- 
mands, he  complied  on  this  occasion  with  Kishen's  wishes,  and 
without  having  advanced  matters  in  the  least  degree  he  agreed  to 
sail  southward,  and  once  more  to  discuss  negotiations  on  the  fa- 
miliar ground  at  Canton.  There  matters  had  been  going  from  bad 
to  worse.  Lin  had  been  devoting  his  energies  to  raising  troops  and 
preparing  to  defend  the  city  against  all  comers.  He  had  issued  fiery 
proclamations  offering  liberal  rewards  for  any  Englishman  brought 
in  dead  or  alive,  and  for  any  vessel  which  the  troops  might  chance 
to  capture.  A  native  army  which  had  been  collected  near  Macao 
had  been  attacked  and  dispersed  with  ease  and  rapidity  by  a  small 
British  force,  and  a  state  of  active  warfare  had  been  brought  about. 
Such  were  the  results  of  the  impertinent  bluster  with  which  the 
now  disappointed  commissioner  had  attempted  to  influence  the 
political  situation.  The  news  of  the  unfortunate  state  of  affairs 
existing  in  the  south  no  sooner  reached  Peking  than  Taokwang  or- 
dered Lin  to  return  to  Peking  "  with  the  speed  of  flames."  With 
justice  the  emperor  wrote  to  him :  "  You  have  but  dissembled  with 
empty  words,  and  so  far  from  having  been  any  help  in  the  affair 
you  have  caused  the  waves  of  confusion  to  arise,  and  a  thousand 
interminable  disorders  are  sprouting;  in  fact,  you  have  been  as 
if  your  arms  were  tied,  without  knowing  what  to  do;  it  appears, 
then,  that  you  are  no  better  than  a  wooden  image." 

The  change  of  venue  to  Canton  was  at  first  unproductive  of 
any  good  results  in  the  negotiations.  The  terror  which  had  in- 
clined the  emperor  to  sanction  discussions  when  the  British  fleet 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho  changed  into  bluster  and  self- 
sufficiency  when  the  whole  length  of  the  empire  separated  him  from 
his  hated  foes,  and  it  was  not  until  Sir  Gordon  Bremer  had  taken 
several  forts  leading  to  Canton  that  Kishen  at  last  consented  to 
treat  for  peace.  After  the  manner  of  all  his  tribe  he  yielded  at 
once  and  completely  to  pressure,  and  agreed,  with  protestations  of 
sincerity,  to  accept  Captain  Elliot's  proposals  for  a  convention. 
These  were  that  the  Island  of  Hongkong  should  be  ceded  to  the 
British  crown,  that  an  indemnity  of  six  million  dollars  should  be 
paid  in  consideration  of  the  opium  destroyed,  that  official  inter- 
course should  be  conducted  between  English  and  Chinese  officials 
on  terms  of  international  equality,  and  that  the  trade  with  the 
British  at  Canton  should  at  once  be  resumed.  It  was  further  agreed 
that  on  the  fulfillment  of  these  conditions  the  Island  of  Chusan' 


186  CHINA 

1839-1841 

and  the  fort  of  Chuanpi  should  be  restored  to  China,  and  that  at 
the  same  time  the  EngHsh  prisoners  at  Ningpo  should  be  granted 
their  liberty.  Among  these  unfortunates  was  Captain  Anstruther, 
R.  A.,  who  had  been  kidnaped  at  Chusan  and  carried  off  to 
Ningpo,  where  he  had  been  imprisoned  in  a  cage.  Fortunately 
these  captives  were  eventually  released,  though  the  treaty  which 
had  been  agreed  to  by  Kishen  was  torn  up  by  the  emperor's  orders. 
At  this  time  the  position  of  foreigners  at  Canton  was  well-nigh 
unendurable.  All  trade  was  stopped,  the  merchants  were  strictly 
confined  to  the  foreign  settlement  and  any  attempt  to  cross  the 
boundaries  of  that  narrow  territory  was  accompanied  by  risk  to 
life  and  limb.  Even  without  this  indiscretion  their  liberty  was  in 
jeopardy.  The  English  chaplain,  for  instance,  was  seized  in  the 
settlement  and  carried  off  to  the  native  city,  where  he  was  impris- 
oned in  a  loathsome  cell  for  four  months. 

Meanwhile  the  emperor  was  breathing  out  death  and  slaugh- 
ter against  the  "  foreign  devils."  By  a  special  edict  he  ordered 
troops  to  march  upon  Canton  and  Chusan,  accompanying  his  com- 
mands with  strict  injunctions  that  they  were  to  "  destroy  and  wipe 
clean  away,  to  exterminate  and  root  out,  the  rebellious  barbarians," 
and  at  the  same  time  rewards  of  $50,000  were  offered  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Captain  Elliot,  Sir  Gordon  Bremer,  and  a  Mr.  Morrison. 
In  these  circumstances  Captain  Elliot  saw  only  one  course  open  to 
him.  Diplomacy  had  failed,  and  all  that  was  left  for  him  to  do  was 
to  place  the  matter  in  Commodore  Bremer's  hands.  That  officer 
at  once  attacked  the  Bogue  forts,  which  had  already  suffered  cap- 
ture at  the  hands  of  British  sailors  on  several  occasions.  In  this 
case  the  operation  was  repeated  with  ease,  although  three  thou- 
sand Chinese  soldiers  stood  for  the  defense  of  the  position.  With 
the  same  agility  as  that  they  displayed  in  the  late  war  with  Japan, 
the  Chinese  soldiers  no  sooner  found  their  forts  untenable  than 
they  took  to  their  heels.  On  the  following  day  the  fleet  proceeded 
up  the  river,  and  as  they  had  done  to  the  Bogue  forts,  so  did  they 
to  the  fortifications  which  lie  in  the  higher  reaches  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  city. 

These  rapid  successes  disturbed  the  Chinese  complacency,  and 
as  a  symptom  and  a  consequence  of  this  perturbation,  the  prefect 
of  the  city  met  the  advancing  hosts  with  a  flag  of  truce,  which 
covered  a  petition  for  a  three  days'  suspension  of  hostilities.  This 
was  granted,  and  as  no  satisfactory  arrangement  resulted  from  it. 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS 


137 


1839-1841 

the  fleet  moved  up  still  nearer  to  Canton,  capturing  without  the 
slightest  difficulty  every  fort  and  camp  on  the  way.  This  further 
advance  again  drew  the  prefect,  who  appeared  with  the  familiar 
white  flag,  and  who  again  secured  a  truce,  during  which  it  was 
arranged  that  the  trade  of  the  port  should  be  carried  on  as  usual. 
The  breathing  time  thus  given  to  the  Chinese  was  diligently  utilized 
by  them  in  collecting  forces  and  materials  in  the  vain  hope  of 
being  able  to  overwhelm  the  Barbarians.  The  most  redoubtable 
troops  of  the  empire  were  hurried  by  forced  marches  to  Canton, 
and  the  appetite  of  the  men  for  foreign  blood  was  sharpened  by 
an  imperial  edict,  in  which  the  emperor  stated  that  it  "  behooved 
them  to  make  a  severe  example  of  the  foreign  devils." 

Kishen,  who  up  to  this  time  had  shown  a  conciliatory  spirit 
in  his  negotiations  with  Captain  Elliot,  adopted,  probably  from 
policy,  the  tone  of  his  imperial  master,  and  memorialized  the 
throne  in  a  paper  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  "  perverse  craftiness 
of  the  presuming  foreigners  who  have  shown  themselves  to  be  ob- 
stinate and  impracticable  in  every  way."  By  his  instigation  there 
were  collected  by  the  middle  of  May,  1841,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Canton,  fifty  thousand  troops,  most  of  whom,  however,  were 
comparatively  innocuous,  being  unarmed.  The  attitude  of  the  peo- 
ple, however,  now  became  so  threatening  that  Captain  Elliot 
directed  all  foreigners  to  provide  for  their  safety  by  leaving  the 
settlement.  This  proceeding  precipitated  matters,  and  the  Chi- 
nese, who  had  made  ample  preparations  for  an  onslaught,  imme- 
diately opened  a  night  attack  upon  the  British  fleet.  Sir  Hugh 
Gough,  who  had  taken  command  of  the  troops,  and  Sir  Fleming 
Senhouse,  the  newly  arrived  admiral,  at  once  took  matters  in 
hand,  and  promptly  prepared  to  meet  the  emergency  by  investing 
the  city.  The  Chinese  made  a  show  of  resistance  to  the  attacking 
force,  but  declined  coming  to  close  quarters,  and  eventually  bar- 
gained to  ransom  the  city  on  the  following  terms :  They  agreed  to 
pay  down  $6,000,000  and  they  undertook  that  the  three  imperial 
commissioners  who  had  been  sent  to  annihilate  the  "  foreign 
devils  "  should  march  with  their  troops  to  a  distance  of  sixty  miles 
from  the  city ;  that  they  should  pay  compensation  for  the  property 
which  had  been  looted  from  the  factories;  and  that  the  Chinese 
troops  should  evacuate  the  city. 

The  maintenance  of  a  permanent  peace  had  now  become  im- 
possible, and  the  English  Government,  deeming  it  essential  that 


138  CHINA 

1841-1842 

the  present  very  unsatisfactory  condition  of  things  should  be  finally 
put  an  end  to,  appointed  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  to  succeed  Captain 
Elliot  as  minister,  and  Admiral  Sir  William  Parker  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  fleet.  Pottinger's  instructions  were  precise.  He  was 
ordered  to  discard  the  existing  system  of  dealing  with  the  provin- 
cial authorities,  and  to  open  relations  with  the  imperial  govern- 
ment. The  attitude,  however,  of  the  emperor  and  his  ministers  at 
this  juncture  was  not  such  as  to  make  it  at  all  probable  that  they 
would  be  disposed  to  listen  to  reason,  and  it  at  once  became  ap- 
parent that  it  would  be  necessary  to  teach  them  wisdom  by  the 
hard  hand  of  experience.  Without  wasting  time  with  empty  nego- 
tiations, therefore,  Sir  Henry  placed  matters  in  the  hands  of  the 
admiral,  who,  realizing  that  to  go  northward  was  to  approach  the 
court,  set  sail  on  August  21,  1842.  The  first  point  of  attack  was 
the  city  of  Amoy,  which  yielded  in  the  ready  way  in  which  towns 
garrisoned  by  Chinese  troops  are  in  the  habit  of  submitting  to 
superior  forces. 

After  leaving  a  small  garrison  to  hold  the  captured  fort,  the 
fleet  sailed  for  the  island  of  Chusan,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  take 
the  town  of  Tinghai.  In  two  hours  from  the  firing  of  the 
first  shot  the  town  was  in  English  hands,  and  the  admiral  and 
general  were  at  liberty  to  sail  across  to  the  mainland  to  attack 
Chenhai  (Chinhai).  The  British  troops  having  landed  from  the 
ships,  marched  on  this  city  in  three  columns,  and  the  Chinese,  hav- 
ing been  unwise  enough  to  venture  out  from  the  protection  of 
their  walls,  were  without  any  difficulty  scattered  to  the  four  winds 
of  heaven.  The  Chinese  generals,  in  their  ignorance,  had  deemed 
this  place  to  be  so  strong  that  any  attack  made  on  it  by  the  English 
barbarians  would,  in  their  opinion,  be  doomed  to  disaster.  The 
result,  therefore,  came  as  such  a  surprise  to  Yukien,  the  viceroy  of 
the  province,  that  in  order  to  avoid  the  personal  consequences  of 
his  imperial  master's  displeasure  he  committed  suicide.  The  feel- 
ing of  compassion  witn  which  we  should  otherwise  be  inclined  to 
regard  the  end  of  Yukien's  career  is  mitigated  by  the  recollection 
of  the  extreme  brutality  with  which  he  treated  two  English  pris- 
oners, one  of  whom  was  by  his  orders  flayed  alive  and  then  burned 
to  death. 

The  possession  of  Chenhai  was  important  as  opening  the  way 
to  the  large  and  populous  city  of  Ningpo,  whither  Sir  Hugh  Gough 
at  once  advanced.     To  his  surprise  he  found  the  town  practically 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS 


1S9 


1842 

undefended,  and  occupied  its  defenses  without  being  called  upon 
to  strike  a  blow.  In  the  first  instance  the  arrival  of  the  English 
alarmed  the  people  to  such  an  extent  that  they  carried  off  into  the 
surrounding  country  their  valuables  and  women  concealed  in 
baskets,  and  receptables  of  all  kinds,  including  coffins.  When, 
however,   it  became  evident  that  the  ways  of  civilized  warfare 


CHINESE  EASTERN  COAST 

Ports  marKed-f  were  opened  as 
result  of  Op\um  WsT  witlx  England 


were  not  as  their  ways,  the  remaining  people  gladly  opened 
their  shops,  and  eagerly  competed  for  the  privilege  and  advan- 
tage of  supplying  the  enemies'  troops  with  the  necessaries  of 
life.  The  news  of  these  disasters— the  fall  of  Amoy,  Tinghai, 
Chenhai,  and  Ningpo — produced  great  alarm  at  court,  and  two 
high  officials,  Ilipu  (Elepoo)  and  Kiying  were  imperially  com- 
missioned to  provide  for  the  defenses  of  the  rich  and  important 
city  of  Hangchow,  near  Ningpo.  It  so  happened,  however,  that  it 
did  not  enter  into  Sir  Hugh  Cough's  plan  of  campaign  to  inter- 


140  CHINA 

1842 

fere  with  the  commissioners  in  their  very  comfortable  quarters, 
and  instead  of  marching  on  Hangchow  he  moved  northward,  and, 
in  passing,  took  the  city  of  Tzuki  on  his  way  to  Wusung,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Shanghai  River.  Here  again  the  same  condition  of 
things  that  had  prevailed  at  Chenhai  and  Ningpo  were  found  to 
exist.  Considering  the  defenses  of  Wusung  as  impregnable,  it  had 
been  deemed  quite  unnecessary  to  fortify  Shanghai,  and  so  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  English  troops  had  driven  the  Chinese  from  the 
ramparts  of  Wusung,  Shanghai  lay  at  their  mercy. 

But  it  was  plain  that  though  these  successes  had  created  alarm 
at  Peking,  it  would  be  necessary  to  advance  further  inland  in  order 
to  bring  sufficient  pressure  to  soften  the  hardened  heart  of  the 
emperor,  Taokwang.  Sir  Henry  Pottinger,  therefore,  directed 
the  commanders  to  advance  up  the  Yang-tsze-kiang  to  Nanking, 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  empire.  In  the  course  of  this  expedition  it 
was  considered  indispensable  to  capture  the  important  town  of 
Chenkiang  (Chinkiang),  which  stands  on  the  southern  shore  of 
the  Great  River  at  a  distance  of  about  seventy  miles  from  Nan- 
king. This  town  was  strongly  walled  and  fortified,  and  was  fur- 
ther protected  by  entrenched  camps  outside  the  city.  The  garrison 
within  the  town  consisted  of  twelve  hundred  Manchu  soldiers, 
eight  hundred  Mongols,  and  about  the  same  number  of  Chinese 
troops,  while  the  encampments  were  held  by  three  thousand  men 
from  the  neighboring  provinces.  The  bombardment  of  the  walls 
not  effecting  a  breach  as  was  anticipated,  the  soldiers  placed  scaling 
ladders  against  the  walls  and  swarmed  onto  the  top.  At  first  the 
Chinese  showed  a  certain  amount  of  courage  in  defending  the 
city,  but,  quite  in  accordance  with  their  usual  manner,  they  no 
sooner  felt  that  they  were  overpowered  than  they  scattered  in  all 
directions.  On  this  occasion  the  loss  of  life  was  terrible.  Not  only 
were  the  Chinese  soldiers  mowed  down  by  British  troops,  but 
thousands  of  them  committed  suicide,  while  whole  families  were 
ruthlessly  murdered  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
English.  The  scenes  witnessed  were  heartrending.  The  houses 
were  full  of  the  dead  and  dying,  and  the  wells  were  choked  with 
the  bodies  of  women  and  children  who  had  either  thrown  them- 
selves in,  or  been  thrown  in  to  save  them  from  capture. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  stands  the  town  of  Iching, 
which  was  visited  in  advance  by  one  of  the  ships  of  the  fleet.  On 
becoming  aware,  in  answer  to  inquiries,  that  the  commander  had 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  141 

1842 

no  intention  of  bombarding  the  town,  the  people  vied  with  each 
other  in  showing  attentions  to  the  foreign  devils,  and  actually, 
while  the  magistrate  and  magnates  were  entertaining  the  English 
captain  and  officers  at  dinner  the  sound  of  the  guns  which  were 
dealing  out  death  and  destruction  at  Chenkiang  broke  in  on  the 
feast,  without  in  any  way  disturbing  the  revelers.  So  complete  is 
the  absence  of  all  patriotic  feeling  among  the  strange  people  of 
"  that  jest  and  riddle  of  the  world  "  China!  With  no  undue  delay 
before  Chenkiang  the  fleet  continued  its  voyage  to  Nanking,  op- 
posite which  it  arrived  on  August  9,  and  whither  the  imperial  com- 
missioners Ilipu  and  Kiying  hastened  to  meet  the  English  pleni- 
potentiary. Niu  Kien,  the  viceroy  of  the  province,  had  already 
had  some  experience  of  English  soldiers  and  sailors.  He  had  saved 
his  life  by  a  rapid  strategic  movement  to  the  rear  when  Wusung 
had  fallen,  but  even  after  this  incident  he  was  still  disposed,  to 
regard  with  contempt  the  "  rebel "  troops  of  England,  and  pro- 
fessed himself  determined  to  defend  Nanking  to  the  last  gasp.  The 
appearance  of  the  fleet  before  the  walls,  however,  had  a  modifying 
effect  on  his  warlike  ardor. 

Fortunately,  also,  in  the  cause  of  peace  Kiying  and  Ilipu 
quickly  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  in  company  with  Niu  Kien 
formed  a  triumvirate  to  whom  the  emperor  had  intrusted  the  con- 
duct of  the  negotiations.  In  reply  to  a  preliminary  report  of  these 
officials,  the  emperor  issued  a  decree  full  of  lofty  platitudes  and 
condescending  phrases,  but  which  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
amounted  to  a  full  concurrence  in  the  views  they  had  expressed  on 
the  necessity  of  making  peace.  Ilipu  from  the  first  had  worked 
in  the  cause  of  amity,  and  had  on  previous  occasions  shown  his 
good  will  by  giving  liberty  to  English  captives  who  had  fallen  into 
his  hands.  With  these  plenipotentiaries  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  im- 
mediately opened  negotiations,  and  the  weariness  of  the  discus- 
sions wliich  followed  were  pleasantly  diversified  by  a  series  of 
entertainments,  which  were  given  by  the  high-contracting  parties. 
Finally,  after  some  delay,  a  treaty  was  concluded  by  which  it  was 
fairly  hoped  that  a  firm  and  durable  peace  might  be  established 
between  the  two  empires.  By  the  terms  of  this  document  it  was 
agreed  that  the  four  additional  ports  of  Amoy,  Foochow  Foo, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  should  be  open  to  trade,  that  Hongkong 
should  be  ceded  to  the  British  crown  in  perpetuity,  and  that  the 
sum  of  $21,000,000  should  be  paid  to  the  victors  in  the  war — 


1 42  CHINA 

1842 

$6,000,000  as  the  value  of  opium  which  Lin  had  destroyed  at 
Canton,  $3,000,000  on  account  of  debts  due  to  British  subjects, 
and  another  $12,000,000  on  account  of  expenses  incurred.  The 
treaty  was  signed  on  August  29,  1842,  and  though  in  the  nego- 
tiations the  Chinese  had  displayed  a  conciliator}'^  spirit,  they 
at  the  same  time  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  their  desire  to  get  rid 
of  the  Barbarians'  ships  from  the  inner  waters  of  the  empire.  In- 
deed, in  the  edict  already  spoken  of,  the  emperor  had  issued  an 
order  "  that  the  whole  of  the  Barbarian  vessels  were  to  leave  the 
Great  River  by  September  14."  To  secure  this  end  it  was  neces- 
sary that  there  should  be  no  delay  in  ratifying  the  treaty  at 
Peking,  and  with  unexampled  celerity  the  document  was  dis- 
patched to  the  capital,  received  the  imperial  signature,  and  returned 
to  Nanking,  The  date  fixed  by  the  emperor  for  the  departure  of 
the  ships  was,  however,  somewhat  exceeded,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  end  of  October  that  the  fleet  once  more  assembled  off  Tinghai 
in  Chusan.  This  island  was  to  be  held  as  a  security  for  the  in- 
demnity due,  and  a  garrison  of  two  thousand  men  was  left  for  its 
defense.  A  further  force  of  one  thousand  men  was  stationed  at 
Amoy,  and  Hongkong  was  protected  by  seventeen  hundred  troops. 
China  is  such  an  immense  and  dislocated  country  that  events 
which  occur  in  one  portion  of  its  domain  in  no  way  necessarily 
affect  the  remaining  provinces.  Thus  it  was  that  while  the  Brit- 
ish forces  had  taken  city  after  city  in  central  China,  and  a  treaty 
of  peace  had  been  concluded  between  the  two  empires,  affairs  in 
Canton  remained  unaffected  by  the  war,  and  unpacified  by  the 
peace.  Riots  were,  both  before  and  after  the  treaty,  of  frequent 
occurrence,  the  city  remained  forbidden  ground  for  foreigners, 
and  large  levies  of  militia  were  collected  in  the  neighborhood  with 
the  avowed  intention  of  driving  the  foreigners  into  the  sea.  By  a 
happy  chance  Ilipu,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  at  Nanking, 
was  sent  as  imperial  commissioner  to  this  unruly  district.  The 
experience  he  had  gained  in  the  central  provinces  as  to  the  supe- 
riority of  foreign  methods  of  warfare  led  him  to  recognize  the 
folly  of  the  anti-foreign  efforts  that  were  being  made  by  the  local 
officials.  Belonging  to  the  imperial  kindred,  and  having  won 
laurels  in  his  kinsman's  service,  he  was  enabled  to  take  a  strong 
line  on  this  occasion,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  therefore  to  issue  a 
proclamation  in  which  he  announced  that  "  it  has  now  been  ar- 
ranged by  treaty  with  England  that     ...     as  long  as  English 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  148 

1843 

foreigners  live  quietly,  and  attend  to  their  business,  our  people 
may  not  disturb  or  molest  them."  Unhappily  Ilipu  did  not  live 
long  enough  to  consolidate  the  friendly  regime  which  he  had  in- 
augurated. His  health  was  failing  when  he  reached  Canton,  and 
on  March  4,  1843,  he  died,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age. 

In  distant  Formosa  the  anti-foreign  feeling  had  been  con- 
scious of  no  such  check  as  that  it  had  thus  received  at  Canton,  and 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger  was  met  on  his  triumphant  return  to  Hong- 
kong with  the  dispiriting  news  that  upward  of  a  hundred  British 
sailors  had  been  ruthlessly  beheaded  by  the  island  authorities.  In- 
quiries confirmed  the  truth  of  the  report,  and  the  few  survivors 
who  escaped  the  fate  of  their  comrades  bore  pathetic  witness  to  a 
dismal  tale  of  intense  cruelty  on  the  one  hand  and  of  courageous 
endurance  on  the  other.  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  at  once  demanded 
reparation  for  this  wrong,  and  Iliang,  the  governor  of  Chehkiang, 
was  sent  as  imperial  commissioner  to  investigate  the  circumstances. 
Iliang  who,  like  Ilipu,  was  of  the  imperial  kindred,  took  a  reason- 
able view  of  the  situation,  and  through  his  instrumentality  the 
Formosan  officials  who  had  authorized  the  massacre  were  de- 
graded, and  sent  to  Peking  for  punishment. 

The  treaty  having  been  concluded,  there  remained  only  for 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger  to  arrange  the  regulations  of  trade.  This 
was  no  easy  task,  as  the  Chinese  in  their  usual  manner,  having 
agreed  to  the  terms  of  treaty,  devoted  all  their  energies  to  whit- 
tling away  its  provisions.  At  length,  after  much  discussion,  and 
no  little  active  diplomacy,  the  task  was  completed  in  July,  1843, 
and  in  the  following  June  Sir  Henry  sailed  for  England,  leaving 
to  his  successor,  Sir  John  Davis,  the  management  of  affairs. 

The  new  plenipotentiary  soon  found  that  in  accepting  the 
office  of  superintendent  of  trade  he  had  entered  upon  a  sea  of 
troubles.  At  Canton  the  officials  and  people  still  gratified  their 
hatred  of  foreigners  by  offering  them  continued  and  constant  in- 
sults. They  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  tyrannize  over  the 
foreign  devils,  and  to  consider  that  their  existence  at  Canton  de- 
pended only  on  favor,  and  had  no  relation  to  right,  that  they  were 
quite  unable  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the  new  order  of  things 
as  laid  down  by  the  treaty.  They  declined  to  recognize  the  ex- 
territorial clauses,  and  on  the  occasion  of  a  Chinese  subject  being 
accidentally  killed  by  an  Englishman  they  demanded  that  the 
slayer  should  be  given  up  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Chinese  justice. 


144  CHINA 

1843 

This,  of  course,  was  refused,  and  the  opportune  arrival  of  Kiying 
served  to  suppress  the  popular  ferment  which  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching the  point  of  danger.  Following  the  conclusion  of  the 
Treaty  at  Nanking,  a  minister  from  France  and  later  one  from 
America  appeared  at  Canton  to  negotiate  with  Kiying  treaties 
for  their  respective  countries.  Under  the  sobering  influence  of 
Kiying's  arrival  and  these  negotiations,  matters  for  a  time  pro- 
ceeded more  quietly  at  Canton,  and  the  new  ports  were  opened  to 
trade  without  let  or  hindrance.  It  was  once  said  to  the  writer  by 
a 'Frenchman  who  was  comparing  the  position  of  his  countrymen 
with  that  of  the  English  in  China,  "  We  come  to  China  with  our 
ideas,  you  with  your  merchandise."  One  form  which  French  ideas 
have  ever  taken  in  China  has  been  the  furtherance  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  and  the  first  prominent  step  taken  by  Louis 
Philippe's  representative  was  to  urge  on  the  imperial  government 
the  propriety  of  restoring  churches  and  buildings  which  in  preced- 
ing years  had  been  destroyed  by  fanatical  mobs.  With  a  consid- 
eration which,  so  far  as  it  went,  was  admirable,  the  emperor 
granted  this  request,  but  accompanied  his  concession  by  peremp- 
torily forbidding  foreign  missionaries  from  further  propagating 
the  doctrines  of  their  faith. 

The  prostration  which  has  always  afflicted  China  after  a 
foreign  war  has  in  most  cases,  as  is  natural,  been  instrumental  in 
encouraging  the  turbulent  and  disaffected  portions  of  the  people 
to  riot  and  rebellion.  Thus  the  secret  societies  which  had  been 
crushed  for  the  time  being  by  the  vigorous  hand  of  Ch'ienlung  be- 
gan again  to  gather  strength  after  the  war  of  1842.  The  Triad 
Society,  which  was  destined  to  be  productive  of  the  T'aip'ing  Re- 
bellion, became  actively  aggressive,  and  with  its  well-known  motto, 
"  Dethrone  the  Ch'ings  and  restore  the  Mings,"  led  a  rebellion 
which  broke  out  in  the  southern  and  central  provinces  of  the  em- 
pire. The  example  set  by  this  society  was  followed  by  the  "  White 
Lily  "  sect  in  northern  China,  and  at  the  same  time,  and  probably 
from  the  same  cause,  the  Mohammedans  in  distant  Kashgaria 
broke  out  into  revolt  against  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  With  prompti- 
tude and  vigor  Taokwang  dispatched  troops  to  meet  these  several 
emergencies,  and  we  cannot  but  wonder  at  the  inefficiency  of  the 
different  rebel  forces  when  we  recollect  that  they  were  conquered 
and  suppressed  by  troops  armed  only  with  bows  and  arrows,  or 
with  the  scarcely  more  formidable  jingals  and  spears.     However, 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS 


145 


1843-1853 


the  fact  has  to  be  acknowledged  that  the  several  victories  were 
complete,  and  so  comparatively  potent  became  the  commands  of 
the  emperor,  even  in  farthest  central  Asia,  that  at  his  word  twelve 
thousand  families  submitted  to  transportation  from  their  native 
Kashgaria  to  the  province  of  Hi. 

"  It  is  difficult  work  being  a  mandarin  nowadays,"  once  re- 
marked a  high  Chinese  official,  and  certainly  in  the  forties  it  was 
no  light  task  to  hold  office  at  the  treaty  ports.  At  Canton  diffi- 
culties were  constantly  arising,  and  a  brutal  assault  on  a  party  of 
Englishmen  when  on  a  visit  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Fatshan 
brought  matters  to  a  climax  at  this  port.  Sir  John  Davis,  con- 
sidering that  a  standing  protest  against  such  conduct  should  be 
made  once  and  for  all,  requested  the  admiral  and  general  com- 
manding to  make  reprisals  at  the  source  of  the  mischief.  With 
admirable  promptitude  the  commanders  led  their  forces  up  the  Can- 
ton River,  and  having  once  again  captured  the  Bogue  forts  and 
the  other  defenses  in  the  way,  took  up  a  position  opposite  the  city 
walls.  In  his  memorial  to  the  throne  on  this  occasion  Kiying  ex- 
pressed his  supreme  surprise  at  the  appearance  of  the  British  force, 
and  complained  of  the  tone  and  attitude  adopted  by  the  English 
plenipotentiary.  But  though  thus  protesting,  he  considered  it  wise 
to  yield  to  Sir  John  Davis's  demands,  and  definitely  agreed  that 
the  city  of  Canton  should  be  opened  to  foreigners  in  two  years' 
time  from  that  date  (April  6,  1847)  ;  that  Englishmen  should  be 
at  liberty  to  roam  for  exercise  or  amusement  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  city ;  that  a  church  should  be  erected,  and  that  a  site  should 
be  granted  for  building  purposes  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 
At  about  the  same  time  a  somewhat  similar  outrage  occurred  at 
Shanghai.  Three  missionaries  who  had  visited  a  town  in  the 
vicinity  were  attacked  by  a  number  of  junkmen  belonging  to  the 
vessels  which  were  anchored  at  the  port.  Consul  Alcock  (after- 
wards Sir  Rutherford  Alcock)  at  once  demanded  reparation  for 
the  outrage,  and  not  receiving  it,  requested  the  captain  of  the  Brit- 
ish frigate  Childers  to  prevent  all  or  any  of  the  fourteen  hundred 
grain-junks  and  fifty  war-junks,  then  about  to  sail  for  Peking, 
from  leaving  the  anchorage  until  the  culprits  should  be  given  up. 
Commander  Pitman  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  with  his  single 
ship  held  this  vast  fleet  in  check.  Meanwhile  Alcock  dispatched 
Parkes  (afterward  Sir  Harry)  to  Nanking  to  lay  before  the  viceroy 
a  formal  complaint.    The  effect  of  these  measures  was  immediate. 


146  CHINA 

1853-1855 

The  rioters  were  seized  and  punished,  reparation  was  made,  and  the 
lesson  was  duly  taken  to  heart  by  the  natives,  who  for  years  after- 
ward showed  a  friendly  attitude  toward  Europeans.  The  English 
Government  of  the  day  disapproved  of  Davis's  action  at  Canton, 
fearing  the  outbreak  of  another  war,  but  Alcock  escaped  censure. 
It  is  unquestionable  that  Sir  John  Davis's  action  was  precipitate, 
and  might  in  other  circumstances  have  been  conducive  to  a  breach 
of  the  peace.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  he  was  dealing  with 
old  offenders,  and  with  men  of  a  turbulent  and  unruly  spirit.  The 
Shanghai  people,  on  the  contrary,  are,  as  a  rule,  peaceable,  and 
in  this  case,  as  the  result  showed,  Alcock's  more  constitutional 
treatment  of  the  affair  was  crowned  with  complete  success.  But 
similar  action  under  like  circumstances  at  Canton  would  have  been 
as  futile  as  diplomatic  pressure  without  the  mailed  fist  has  always 
been. 

The  governor  of  Canton  at  the  time  was  the  redoubtable  Yeh, 
who,  after  acting  in  opposition  to  foreigners  for  ten  or  twelve 
years,  was  made  prisoner  by  the  English  officer.  Sir  Harry 
Parkes,  and  ended  his  days  as  an  exile  in  Calcutta.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  this  man  things  went  from  bad  to  worse  within  his 
jurisdiction.  Like  most  Chinamen,  he  had  no  idea  of  administra- 
tion in  its  truest  sense.  His  one  remedy  for  all  political  offenses 
was  the  execution  ground.  Popular  rights  he  ignored  with  even 
more  than  Chinese  indifference,  and  thus  aroused  a  spirit  of  an- 
tagonism among  his  subjects  which  made  itself  felt  in  every  part 
of  the  province.  Pirates  swept  the  coast,  seizing  on  every  mer- 
chant junk  which  they  encountered,  until  from  the  coast  of  Tong- 
king  to  the  neighborhood  of  Foochow  merchants  ventured  on 
voyages  at  the  risk  of  their  lives  and  goods.  In  the  interior  of  the 
province  the  Triad  Society  spread  its  noxious  branches,  and  at  the 
port  of  Macao  the  anti-foreign  feeling  of  the  people  found  vent  in 
the  murder  of  the  governor,  Signor  Amaral.  The  people  within 
the  city  still  showed  a  determined  opposition  to  admitting  for- 
eigners within  their  gates,  and  unfortunately  found  support  for 
their  antagonism  from  the  emperor  himself,  who  proclaimed  in  an 
edict :  "  That  to  which  the  hearts  of  the  people  incline  is  that 
on  which  the  decree  of  Heaven  rests.  Now  the  people  of  Kwang- 
tung  are  unanimous  and  determined  that  they  will  not  have  for- 
eigners enter  the  city,  and  how  can  I  post  up  everywhere  my  im- 
perial order,  and  force  an  opposite  course  upon  the  people  ?  "    These 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  1^ 

1853-1855 

Utterances  were  quite  sufficient  to  stiffen  the  backs  of  the  Can- 
tonese, and  encouraged  the  inhabitants  of  other  towns  to  enforce 
the  same  exclusive  policy.  Near  Canton  stands  the  town  of 
Hwangchukki,  which  has  always  borne  an  evil  repute  for  violence. 
Supported  by  the  emperor's  apparent  approval,  the  natives  of  this 
place  determined  to  emphasize  their  adherence  to  the  policy  of  the 
provincial  capital  whenever  occasion  should  arise.  They  had  not 
long  to  wait.  On  an  ill-fated  day  six  Englishmen  made  an  excur- 
sion to  the  smaller  city.  The  mob  at  once  rose,  and  with  brutal 
violence  murdered  them  all.  This  was  an  outrage  which  might 
well  have  led  to  a  renewal  of  hostilities,  and  probably  would  have 
done  so  had  Yeh  been  in  supreme  command.  The  imperial  com- 
missioner Kiying,  however,  was  still  on  the  spot,  and  with  wise 
and  immediate  action  ordered  the  capture  of  the  offenders,  who  in 
due  course  were  tried  at  Canton   and  beheaded  for  their  crime. 

In  a  country  such  as  China  there  is  always  a  certain  amount 
of  discontent  floating  about  which  needs  but  the  appearance  of  a 
leader  to  crystallize  it  into  a  body  ready  for  action.  As  we  have 
seen  already,  there  had  long  been  a  feeling  of  more  than  ordinary 
unrest  among  the  Cantonese,  and  there  now  arose  a  man  who  was 
destined  to  give  expression  to  the  prevailing  disloyalty,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  exploits  to  shake  the  empire  to  its  very  base.  In  a 
village  in  the  neighborhood  of  Canton  there  was  born  of  a  Hakka, 
or  emigrant  family,  a  youth  possessing  the  name  of  Hung 
Hsiuts'uan,  who,  being  endowed  with  abilities,  and  with  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  ambition,  desired  to  place  his  foot  on  the  rungs 
of  the  official  ladder.  With  this  object  in  view  he  studied  the  way- 
worn classics  of  his  country,  and  presented  himself  at  Canton  as 
a  candidate  for  examination.  But  the  fates  were  against  him,  and 
his  failure  is  attributed  by  some  to  the  fact  of  his  parentage 
— the  Hakkas  being  looked  upon  as  a  pariah  class — and  by 
others  to  his  want  of  scholarship.  On  the  occasion  of  his  first 
visit  to  the  provincial  capital  in  1833  he  chanced  to  meet  an 
evangelist,  who  interested  him  for  the  time  being,  but  whose 
doctrines  soon  lost  all  salutary  effect  upon  him.  Four  years  later, 
however,  he  again  appeared  as  a  candidate,  and  again  met  the 
Scripture  reader,  to  whose  teachings,  as  was  subsequently  proved, 
he  listened  attentively.  Returning  to  his  home  for  the  second  time 
unsuccessful,  he  fell  ill  with  what  appeared  likely  to  prove  a  fatal 
malady.    As  he  tossed  upon  his  bed  in  his  delirium  he  saw  many 


148  CHINA 

1851 

strange  and  weird  visions.  He  listened  to  the  music  of  the  spheres. 
He  was  visited  by  ominous  beasts,  and  he  had  a  vision  of  the  Al- 
mighty, who  entered  his  room  and  placed  a  sword  in  his  hand,  with 
which  he  commanded  him  to  exterminate  the  ruling  powers,  at  the 
same  time  foretelling  that  there  lay  a  great  future  before  him.  For 
forty  days  he  remained  in  this  delirious  condition,  and  at  the  end 
of  that  time  he  arose  endowed  with  strength,  and  with  a  firm  de- 
termination to  execute  the  behests  of  his  heavenly  visitor. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  Hung  really  believed  in  his  di- 
vine mission.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  hysterical  youths, 
especially  when  under  the  influence  of  pseudo-religious  fanaticism, 
to  place  faith  in  visions  and  prophetic  utterances.  In  his  case  also 
it  is  plain  that  the  illness  which  overtook  him  was  of  a  purely  nerv- 
ous character.  But  notwithstanding  their  neurotic  source,  his 
convictions  were  strong,  and  he  was  able  to  impress  those  about 
him  with  a  belief  in  his  views.  By  degrees,  first  of  all  in  his  own 
household,  and  afterward  in  the  neighborhood,  followers  gathered 
to  him,  and  he  and  they  attempted  to  spread  the  doctrines  of  the 
Shangti  Hui,  or  the  "  Association  of  the  Almighty,"  which  he 
established.  The  term  Hui,  however,  alarmed  the  authorities.  It 
is  the  common  title  taken  by  the  secret  societies  which  so  largely 
infest  the  empire,  and  which  are  so  abhorrent  in  the  eyes  of  the 
mandarins.  They  therefore  declared  the  association  to  be  treason- 
able, and  Hung  found  it  advisable  to  drop  the  epithet.  Though 
discarding  the  obnoxious  word,  however,  he  proceeded  at  once  to 
associate  himself  with  a  far  more  treasonable  corporation  than  the 
Shangti  Hui,  vis.,  the  Triad  Society,  and  so  active  did  his 
followers  become  in  this  cause  that  the  government,  in  alarm,  dis- 
patched three  imperial  commissioners  from  Peking  to  stamp  out 
the  movement.  Of  these  three  men,  Tahungah,  who  had  ordered 
the  massacre  of  the  British  sailors  in  Formosa,  was  chief.  With 
him  were  associated  Saishangah,  a  notorious  profligate  and  prime 
minister,  and  Hsingte.  Though  armed  with  plenipotentiary 
powers,  these  three  courtiers  carefully  refrained  from  coming  to 
close  quarters  with  Hung's  troops,  who,  full  of  iconoclastic  zeal, 
destroyed  the  Buddhist  temples  in  the  countryside  and  threw  down 
the  idols. 

But  more  serious  matters  than  these  anti-religious  ebullitions 
speedily  demanded  the  attention  of  the  rebels.  Circumstances  had 
driven  them  to  take  up  arms  against  the  empire,  and  having  captured 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  149 

1852 

two  market  towns  in  their  neighborhood,  they  ventured  to  attack  the 
city  of  Lienchow.  This  place  they  took  without  much  difficulty,  and 
in  succession,  Taitsun,  Yunganchow,  and  Manning  Fu  fell  into  their 
hands.  These  successes  created  a  panic  at  Canton,  and  Yeh  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  strengthen  the  defenses  of  the  city  in  anticipation 
of  a  siege.  In  a  memorial  presented  to  the  throne  at  this  time  a 
Canton  official  described  the  state  of  the  province  in  these  words, 
"  The  whole  country  swarms  with  the  rebels.  Our  funds  are 
nearly  at  an  end,  and  our  troops  are  few ;  our  officers  disagree  and 
the  power  is  not  concentrated.  The  commander  of  the  forces 
wants  to  extinguish  a  burning  wagonload  of  fagots  with  a  cup- 
ful of  water.  ...  I  fear  we  shall  hereafter  have  some  serious 
affair,  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  will  rise  against  us,  and 
that  our  own  followers  will  leave  us."  After  the  above  victories 
Hung  was  gratified  by  experiencing  the  truth  of  the  common  say- 
ing that  nothing  succeeds  like  success.  Following  on  each  cap- 
ture troops  flocked  to  his  standard,  probably  actuated  more  by  the 
desire  for  plunder  than  from  any  political  convictions.  At  all 
events  they  added  to  his  strength,  but  the  movement  being  rather 
of  a  destructive  than  constructive  nature,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  constantly  lead  his  new  recruits  forward,  and  having  ex- 
hausted the  resources  of  one  district,  seek  fresh  woods  and  pas- 
tures new  elsewhere.  With  this  object  he  marched  northward 
instead  of  against  the  provincial  capital,  having  first  proclaimed  his 
authority  by  issuing  decrees  purporting  to  have  been  communi- 
cated to  him  by  the  Heavenly  Father.  Crossing  the  northern  fron- 
tier of  Kwangtung  he  marched  into  Hunan,  and  striking  the 
Hsiang  River,  followed  down  its  course,  taking  all  such  cities  as 
were  not  strong  enough  to  resist  him.  Up  to  this  point  Hung  had 
not  met  a  single  Chinese  commander  possessing  any  courage  or  a 
modicum  of  military  ability.  He  was  now  to  enter  into  conflict  with 
a  general  of  a  very  different  stamp,  and  who  was  destined  in  the 
end  to  bring  the  rebellion  to  ruin. 

On  the  approach  of  the  rebels,  Tseng  Kwofan,  the  father  of 
the  Marquis  Tseng,  who  later  represented  China  at  the  court  of 
St.  James's,  threw  himself  into  Changsha,  the  capital  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  with  all  speed  set  to  work  to  fortify  the  town  and  to  equip 
a  defending  force.  The  success  of  his  tactics  was  complete.  Thrice 
the  T'aip'ings  attacked  the  walls  and  thrice  they  were  beaten  back 
by  the  actively  led  garrison.     This  successful  resistance  having 


160  CHINA 

1853 

made  it  plain  to  the  "  Heavenly  King  "  that  the  capture  of  the  city 
was  beyond  his  powers,  he  raised  the  siege,  and  leaving  that  and 
the  important  town  of  Hsiangtan  in  imperial  hands,  continued  his 
way  to  the  Yang-tsze-kiang.  In  quick  succession  Yochow,  Wu- 
chang, and  Kiukiang  were  taken  by  his  troops,  and  at  the  last 
named  place  he  successfully  withstood  a  siege  conducted  by  Tseng 
Kwofan,  who  had  followed  close  on  his  heels. 

It  is  easy  to  believe  that  after  these  undoubtedly  great  suc- 
cesses Hung's  belief  in  his  divine  mission  became  engrained  in  him, 
and  in  March,  1853,  ^^  published  a  book  of  Celestial  Decrees,  con- 
taining a  series  of  revelations  which  to  an  unprejudiced  observer 
have  all  the  appearance  of  gross  profanation.  One  of  these  docu- 
ments contains  the  following  passage :  "  The  Heavenly  Father  ad- 
dressed the  multitude,  saying,  *  O  my  children !  do  you  know  your 
Heavenly  Father,  and  your  Celestial  Brother  ? '  To  which  they  all 
replied,  *We  know  our  Heavenly  Father  and  Celestial  Elder 
Brother.'  The  Heavenly  Father  then  said,  *  Do  you  know  your 
Lord,  and  truly  ?  '  To  which  they  all  replied,  *  We  know  our  Lord 
right  well.*  The  Heavenly  Father  said,  *  I  have  sent  your  Lord 
down  into  the  world  to  become  the  Celestial  King  (T'ienwang,  the 
title  which  Hung  had  adopted)  ;  every  word  he  utters  is  a  Celes- 
tial command  to  which  you  must  be  obedient;  you  must  truly  as- 
sist your  Lord  and  regard  your  King;  you  must  not  dare  to  act 
disorderly,  nor  to  be  disrespectful.  If  you  do  not  regard  your 
Lord  and  King,  every  one  of  you  will  be  involved  in  difficulty.'  " 

With  such  strange  and  unnatural  incitements  Hung  secured 
the  allegiance  of  his  ignorant  followers,  and  with  full  confidence 
of  success  led  them  to  the  attack  on  Nanking,  the  ancient  capital  of 
the  empire.  Though  the  garrison  was  a  large  one,  composed  partly 
of  Manchus  and  partly  of  Chinese  soldiers,  only  a  half-hearted 
defense  was  made.  Without  much  difficulty  a  gate  was  blown  up, 
and  the  T'aip'ings,  rushing  into  the  breach,  secured  possession  of 
the  walls.  The  miserable  garrison,  too  cowardly  to  defend  an  ex- 
ceptionally strong  position,  had  the  further  baseness  to  plead — they 
pleaded  in  vain — for  their  lives  at  the  hands  of  the  conquerors. 
The  T'aip'ings  had  not  learned,  and  never  did  learn,  the  lesson  that 
mercy  blesses  those  who  give,  and  without  hesitation  they  made 
a  clean  sweep  of  their  abject  foes.  It  is  said  that  out  of  twenty 
thousand  Manchu  citizens  not  a  hundred  were  left  to  tell  the  tale 
of  the  slaughter.    As  a  T'aip'ing  said  to  the  British  Consul  Mea^ 


I 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS  161 

1853 

dows  at  the  time:  "We  killed  them  all,  to  the  infant  in  arms; 
we  left  not  a  root  to  sprout  from;  and  the  bodies  of  the  slain  we 
cast  into  the  Yangtsze." 

Having  thus  established  himself  in  the  second  city  of  the  em- 
pire, the  "  Heavenly  King  "  made  some  efforts  toward  introducing 
a  system  of  administration  among  his  followers.  As  self-assertion 
always  exercises  a  powerful  influence  in  the  assumption  of  author- 
ity, he  determined  to  adopt  the  imperial  purple  and  to  proclaim 
himself  Emperor  of  China,  at  the  same  time  announcing  that  his 
dynasty  was  to  be  known  in  the  future  as  the  T'aip'ing  Dynasty. 
In  support  of  this  new  dignity  he  severally  appointed  four  of  his 
principal  supporters  as  kings  of  the  north,  east,  south,  and  west. 
These  very  incomplete  efforts  toward  establishing  a  government 
seem  to  have  exhausted  his  exertions  and  ability,  and  he  sank  from 
this  time  into  obscurity.  He  was  never  subsequently  seen  beyond 
the  gates  of  his  palace,  where  he  was  waited  upon  by  women  only, 
and  where,  in  the  midst  of  very  questionable  surroundings,  he 
gave  himself  up  to  a  life  of  indolence  and  self-indulgence.  In  these 
circumstances  the  management  of  affairs  naturally  drifted  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  were  able  and  willing  to  accept  the  responsi- 
bility of  office,  and  practically  the  four  kings  exercised  complete 
and  irresponsible  authority  in  all  matters  connected  with  the  new 
dynasty.  The  eastern  king,  who  seems  to  have  followed  more 
closely  than  the  others  in  the  steps  of  his  liege  lord,  was,  or  pre- 
tended to  be,  subject  to  trances,  in  one  of  which  ecstatic  conditions 
he  received  a  "  message  from  the  Almighty  "  ordering  him  to  re- 
buke and  chastise  the  T'ienwang  for  his  treatment  of  the  women 
within  the  palace.  Yang,  who  appeared  to  be  by  no  means  loath 
to  exercise  the  delegated  authority  thus  granted  him,  took  his 
chief  to  task,  and  even  induced  him  to  prostrate  himself  to  receive 
the  chastisement  decreed  by  the  Most  High.  This  humiliation  was 
considered  to  be  sufficient,  and  Yang,  instead  of  inflicting  the 
merited  stripes,  proceeded  to  remonstrate  with  him  on  the  gross 
impropriety  of  kicking  and  otherwise  ill  using  his  concubines  and 
female  attendants.  For  a  time  the  T'ienwang  submitted  to  these 
rebukes,  and  even  proclaimed  Yang  to  be  the  personification  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  But  at  last  the  yoke  became  unendurable,  and  on 
a  charge  of  treachery  which  ill  became  his  divine  character  Yang 
was  tried,  condemned,  and  beheaded. 

The  position  which  the  T'aip'ings  had  thus  secured  on  the 


I 


152 


CHINA 


1853 


Yang-tsze-kiang  naturally  induced  foreigners,  who  had  watched  the 
progress  of  the  movement  with  interest  and  some  concern,  to  desire 
to  gauge  accurately  the  objects  and  power  of  the  rebels.  It  was 
plain  that  if,  as  then  appeared  likely,  they  were  destined  to  over- 
throw the  ruling  dynasty,  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  be  brought 
into  contact  with  some  of  their  leading  men  and  to  have  some  idea 
of  the  policy  which  they  were  likely  to  pursue.  Governor  Bonham 
was  among  the  first  to  visit  Nanking  with  this  object  in  view,  but 
beyond  satisfying  his  curiosity  and  exciting  a  superficial  interest 
among  the  rebels,  the  visit  proved  to  be  singularly  unproductive 
of  results. 

So  far,  however,  fortune  had  smiled  on  the  T'ienwang,  but  it 
was  obvious  that  so  long  as  Peking  was  beyond  his  grasp  he  must 
be  considered  to  have  failed  of  the  goal  which  was  his  ultimate 
aim.  At  a  council  of  war  held  at  Nanking  this  subject  was  de- 
bated, and  it  was  finally  determined  that  the  die  should  be  cast, 
and  that  an  expedition  should  be  sent  against  the  northern  capital. 
In  March,  1853,  a  column  started  northward  on  this  adventurous 
endeavor.  So  completely  had  the  terror  of  the  T'aip'ing  name 
influenced  the  garrisons  of  towns  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  great 
river  that  without  let  or  hindrance  the  column  marched  trium- 
phantly as  far  as  K'aifung  Fu,  the  capital  city  of  Honan.  Here 
a  bold  front  was  shown  to  the  invaders,  who,  finding  the  capture 
of  the  city  to  be  beyond  their  power,  raised  the  siege,  as  their 
manner  was  in  all  similar  cases,  and  continued  their  march  north- 
ward. Without  meeting  with  any  serious  opposition  they  traversed 
the  province  of  Shansi  and  captured  the  town  of  Shenchow  (Shin- 
chow)  in  the  metropolitan  province.  Thence  they  advanced  to 
Tsinghai,  within  twenty  miles  of  Tientsin,  and  there  entrenched 
themselves.  The  march  had  been  daringly  and  well  executed,  and 
it  reflects  infinite  discredit  on  the  imperial  forces  that  so  much  had 
been  accomplished  at  so  small  a  cost.  In  a  six  months'  raid  the 
rebels  had  captured  twenty-six  cities,  and  had  finally  established 
themselves  within  a  hundred  miles  of  Peking.  But  the  effort  had 
been  made  in  defiance  of  the  true  principles  of  warfare.  They  had 
no  supports,  and  like  all  Oriental  armies  they  were  absolutely  with- 
out commissariat,  being  dependent  only  on  plunder  for  their  daily 
bread.  Movement  was  therefore  essential  to  their  existence,  and 
after  a  short  rest  at  Tsinghai,  they  marched  to  the  attack  of  the 
neighboring  city  of  Tientsin.     Here  they  found  General  Sanko- 


FOREIGN     RELATIONS 


163 


1853 

linsin,  who  subsequently  commanded  the  imperial  forces  against 
the  allies,  in  possession,  and  failed  to  make  any  impression  on  the 
fortification  garrisoned  by  the  troops  of  this  veteran.  This  check 
was  fatal  to  the  expedition.  To  have  marched  on  Peking  with 
Tientsin  untaken  in  their  rear  would  have  been  an  act  of  full- 
moon  madness,  and  the  general  in  command  wisely  determined 
rather  to  force  his  way  back  to  Nanking  than  to  advance  to  cer- 
tain ruin. 

With  some  difficulty  and  considerable  loss  he  managed  to  cut 
his  way  through  the  intervening  imperial  host,  and  eventually  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  a  remnant  of  his  forces  to  the  capital  of  his 
chief.  Another  column  which  had  started  with  the  idea  of  support- 
ing the  first  expedition,  on  hearing  of  the  retreat  from  Tsinghai, 
retired  with  alacrity  and  retraced  its  steps  to  Nanking.  It  was  in 
connection  with  these  expeditions  that  Li  Hung  Chang,  who  has 
since  filled  so  prominent  a  place  in  Chinese  politics,  first  stepped  on 
to  the  stage.  Feeling  that  it  was  a  time  when  China  might  reason- 
ably expect  every  man  to  do  his  duty,  Li,  who  was  still  residing 
under  the  parental  roof  at  Hofei  in  Anhui,  raised  a  regiment  of 
militia  to  contest  the  progress  of  the  northern  column.  Whether 
from  a  disinclination  to  meet  the  enemy  face  to  face,  or  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  too  late  in  the  field  to  do  so,  certain  it  is  that  his 
military  tactics  consisted  in  following  in  the  track  of  the  rebels  and 
harassing  their  rearguard  so  long  as  they  remained  within  the 
frontier  of  Anhui.  Though  there  was  nothing  striking  in  these 
military  maneuvers  of  the  future  viceroy,  his  patriotic  exertions 
were  of  sufficient  value  to  attract  the  attention  of  Tseng  Kwofan, 
who  from  that  time  forth  became  his  constant  patron  and  friend. 

The  non-success  of  this  attempt  on  Peking  was  a  serious  blow 
to  the  T'aip'ing  cause.  Not  only  had  the  rebels  lost  prestige  by  it, 
but  it  had  deprived  them  of  fresh  districts  from  which  they  might 
recruit  their  ranks  and  plunder  necessaries.  In  this  dilemma  they 
were  driven  to  enlarge  their  borders  on  the  banks  of  the  great 
river,  and  from  Ichang  to  Yangchow  they  soon  reigned  supreme, 
if  it  is  possible  to  speak  of  such  banditti  as  reigning  at  all.  Ad- 
ministration can  hardly  be  said  to  have  entered  into  their  system, 
and  the  fiendish  barbarity  with  which  they  desolated  cities  and  vil- 
lages has  even  to  the  present  day  left  its  mark  on  some  of  the 
fairest  provinces  of  China.  Nanking  itself  was  at  this  time  ruled 
without  any  regard  for  law  and  right,  and  presented  a  sordid  scene 


164  CHINA 

1853 

of  Oriental  debauchery  accompanied  with  all  the  intrigues  and 
murders  which  usually  belong  to  such  a  state.  No  man's  life  was 
safe  for  five  minutes,  and  a  reign  of  terror  took  possession  of  the 
followers  of  the  Dynasty  of  Great  Peace  (T'aip'ing).  As  was 
inevitable,  this  state  of  things  at  headquarters  affected  by  degrees 
the  efficiency  of  the  troops  in  the  provinces,  and  the  imperialists, 
taking  heart  of  grace  at  the  disorder  which  prevailed,  recovered  a 
number  of  cities  with  almost  as  much  ease  as  that  with  which  the 
T'aip'ings  a  short  time  before  had  made  themselves  masters  of 
them.  Gradually  the  forces  of  the  T'ienwang  were  confined  be- 
tween the  cities  of  Nanking  and  Anking  on  the  Yang-tsze-kiang, 
both  of  which  were  closely  beleaguered. 


Chapter  VIII 

THE   SECOND  FOREIGN  WAR.     1850-1858 

WHILE  these  things  were  going  on  in  the  central  prov- 
inces of  the  empire,  movements  unconnected  with  the 
T'aip'ings,  but  doubtless  produced  by  the  unrest  occa- 
sioned by  these  truculent  disturbers  of  the  peace,  broke  out  in 
various  parts  of  the  empire.  Canton,  that  hotbed  of  disaffection, 
was  in  a  state  of  ferment,  and  Yeh's  energies  were  taxed  to  the 
utmost  to  preserve  even  the  apparent  supremacy  of  the  emperor. 
In  Szech'uan  and  Kweichow  bands  of  rebels  appeared  who  deso- 
lated country  districts,  and  held  walled  cities  in  defiance  of  the 
imperial  commanders.  It  was  while  the  country  was  thus  seething 
with  discontent  that  Taokwang,  whose  health  had  for  some  time 
been  failing,  became  seriously  ill.  The  Chinese  are  firm  believers 
in  signs  in  the  skies.  To  them  a  comet  presages  disturbance  in  the 
empire  and  misfortunes  to  the  ruling  house,  while  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun  forbodes  an  equally  ominous  future.  Curiously  enough  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  was  foretold  for  the  Chinese  New  Year's  Day 
in  1850.  The  combination  of  time  added  unnatural  terrors  to  the 
portent,  and  in  his  superstitious  terror  Taokwang  had  the  supreme 
imprudence  to  order  that  New  Year's  Day  should  be  postponed  for 
twenty-four  hours.  It  is  probable  that  the  omen,  as  is  so  often 
the  case,  was  the  means  of  working  its  own  fulfillment,  and  before 
many  weeks  were  over  Taokwang  became,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine, 
a  "  guest  on  high,"  leaving  his  distracted  country  to  his  fourth  son, 
who  adopted  as  his  imperial  title  the  epithet  of  Hsienfeng,  or 
"  Complete  Abundance." 

Why  Hsienfeng  was  chosen  to  succeed  to  the  throne  does  not 
clearly  appear.  By  the  law  of  succession  in  China  the  dying  em- 
peror has  the  right  of  nominating  any  one  of  his  sons  whom  he  may 
please  as  his  successor,  quite  irrespective  of  the  rule  of  primogeni- 
ture. Taokwang  was  blessed  with  eight  sons,  the  next  one  to 
Hsienfeng  being  Prince  Kung,  whose  name  has  long  been  promi- 
nently before  the  public  as  President  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen.     A 

155 


156  CHINA 

1850 

still  younger  brother  was  Prince  Chun,  the  father  of  the  present 
Emperor  Kwanghsii.  At  the  time  of  his  assuming  the  imperial 
crown  Hsienfeng  was  nineteen  years  of  age  and  with  the  blessing 
of  youth  combined  the  headstrong  disposition  which  is  commonly 
supposed  to  belong  to  it.  The  old  councilors,  Kiying  and  Mu- 
changah,  who  had  served  his  father  long  and  well,  he  incontinently 
dismissed  from  office,  and  appointed  in  their  places  men  of  far  less 
ability,  but  who  possessed  in  his  eyes  the  qualification  of  being 
violently  anti-foreign.  The  influence  of  these  changes  soon  made 
itself  felt  in  the  provinces,  and  prompted  the  Foochow  officials  to 
imitate  the  example  of  the  Canton  mandarins  and  to  refuse  to  admit 
foreigners  within  the  walls  of  the  city  in  1850.  At  the  same  time 
six  Pailous  or  Gates  of  Honor  were  erected  at  Canton  to  the 
Viceroy  Hsu  for  the  part  he  had  played  in  preserving  the  streets 
of  the  city  from  the  polluting  presence  of  foreigners.  Altogether 
there  were  many  signs  that  Hsienfeng's  position  would  be  by  no 
means  a  bed  of  roses,  and  nature  combined  with  foreigners  to  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  the  emperor.  A  famine  occurred  in  the  country 
round  Peking,  which  carried  off  many  thousands  of  the  people ;  a 
destructive  earthquake  swept  over  the  province  of  Szech'uan; 
while  fires  of  unusual  magnitude  and  ferocity  destroyed  whole 
districts. 

It  is  part  of  the  imperial  etiquette  of  China  that  the  ruling 
emperor  should  see  in  any  convulsions  of  nature  a  reflection  on  his 
own  conduct,  and  of  that  of  the  officials  under  him.  And  in  this 
spirit  Hsienfeng,  in  face  of  the  calamities  which  surrounded  him, 
issued  an  edict  in  which,  after  belauding  his  "  profoundly  benevo- 
lent and  exceedingly  gracious  "  parent,  he  proceeded  to  depreciate 
himself  and  his  officers  in  these  words :  "  We,  although  not  laying 
claim  to  the  title  of  an  intelligent  ruler,  will  at  the  same  time  not 
lay  the  blame  unnecessarily  upon  our  ministers  and  officers;  but 
we  just  ask  them  in  the  silent  hour  of  the  night  to  lay  their  hands 
upon  their  hearts,  and  see  if  they  can  allow  themselves  to  rest 
satisfied  with  such  a  state  of  things;  if  they  do  not  now  reproach 
themselves  most  bitterly  for  their  remissness,  they  will,  at  some 
future  period,  be  involved  in  evils  which  they  will  not  be  able  to 
remedy.  We,  therefore,  publicly  announce  to  all  our  officers  great 
and  small,  that  if  from  henceforth  you  do  not  change  your  habits. 
and  if  you  pay  no  regard  to  this,  our  decree,  we  are  determined 
severely  to  punish  you  according  to  the  utmost   rigor  of   the 


SECOND     FOREIGN     WAR  167 

1849-1852 

law,  without  allowing  the  least  indulgence  or  permitting  rigor 
to  be  tempered  by  clemency;  for  the  necessity  of  the  present 
crisis  demands  it."  Judging  from  appearances  these  admonitions 
fell  on  deaf  ears,  for  no  attempt  was  made  to  reform  the  glaring 
abuses  which  existed  and  still  exist  in  the  country. 

At  Canton  the  question  of  admittance  into  the  city  was  still 
straining  relations  between  Sir  George  Bonham  and  Yeh.  The 
promise  that  had  been  given  by  Kiying  that  the  gates  should  be 
thrown  open  to  foreigners  in  1849  was  not  fulfilled  by  his  successor, 
who,  as  time  went  on,  declared  his  opinion  that  as  the  season  had 
passed  when  the  concession  was  to  have  taken  effect,  the  promise 
must  be  considered  as  abrogated.  And  he  further  protested  against 
yielding  the  privilege,  on  the  ostensible  ground  that  the  people 
were  of  so  unruly  a  nature  that  to  grant  it  would  be  to  incur  serious 
danger  both  to  foreigners  and  to  the  imperial  authorities  them- 
selves. This  has  always  been  a  favorite  excuse  with  the  Chinese 
when  a  request  has  been  advanced  by  foreigners  with  which  they 
find  it  difficult  to  comply.  It  was  for  many  years  the  traditional 
reason  given  for  not  allowing  the  establishment  of  foreign  lega- 
tions at  Peking.  But,  as  at  Canton,  where  on  gaining  possession 
of  the  city  the  people  proved  to  be  perfectly  friendly,  so  when  in 
1861  Sir  Frederick  Bruce  and  his  staff  took  up  their  residence  at 
the  capital  they  were  received  with  every  civility  by  the  populace. 
It  was,  however,  felt  to  be  essential  that  the  point  in  dispute  at 
Canton  should  be  cleared  up  once  and  for  all,  and  when  Sir  John 
Bowring  succeeded  Sir  George  Bonham  in  1852  he  took  up  the 
question  with  energy.  Writing  to  Lord  Clarendon  he  said,  "  I 
am  still  of  opinion  that,  until  the  city  question  of  Canton  is  settled, 
there  is  little  hope  of  our  relations  being  placed  on  anything  like  a 
satisfactory  foundation;  and,  moreover,  that  the  settlement  of  the 
said  city  question  might  be  brought  about  without  any  risk  or 
danger  to  our  great  interests  in  China.  In  my  matured  judgment 
it  has  been  delayed  too  long." 

Sir  John  Bowring's  first  step  in  the  controversy  was  to  notify 
his  appointment  as  superintendent  of  trade  to  Yeh  and  to  invite 
him  to  an  interview.  Yeh's  reply  was  characteristic  of  the  man. 
He  congratulated  Sir  John  on  his  appointment  and  then  went  on 
to  decline  the  invitation  on  the  ground  that  his  time  was  fully  oc- 
cupied in  making  dispositions  for  the  campaign  against  the  rebels. 
Being  further  pressed  on  the  point  he  had  the  impertinence  to  pro- 


168  CHINA 

1856 

pose  that  Sir  John  should  meet  him  at  a  packhouse  outside  the 
walls  of  the  city.  Sir  John  naturally  declined  this  proposal,  and  it 
was  while  foreign  relations  were  in  this  condition  that  Yeh  put 
forward  a  request  which  could  only  have  been  made  by  a  China- 
man. While  with  one  hand  he  dealt  out  scorn  and  derision  against 
foreigners,  with  the  other  he  asked  their  help  to  assist  in  the  sup- 
pression of  the  rebels  who  were  troubling  his  peace.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  this  also  was  declared  to  be  impossible. 

It  was  while  matters  were  in  this  condition  that  Parkes  was  ap- 
pointed British  Consul  at  Canton  in  1856.  His  well-known  ability, 
courage,  and  perseverance  peculiarly  qualified  him  for  the  post  at 
this  crisis,  and  throughout  the  whole  quarrel  he  ably  supported  Sir 
John  Bowring  in  the  line  he  was  adopting  with  regard  to  the  great 
question  in  dispute.  Yeh  had  refused  to  receive  Parkes,  and, 
though  willing  to  keep  up  an  official  correspondence  with  him,  de- 
clined to  change  his  main  attitude  in  the  least  degree.  Led  by 
their  truculent  governor,  the  people  of  the  city  heaped  constant 
insults  on  the  European  merchants,  and  handbills  were  publicly 
circulated  throughout  the  city  calling  on  the  people  to  expel  the 
intruders.  One  of  these  documents  concluded  with  the  following 
words :  "  Hereafter,  therefore,  whenever  any  barbarian  dogs  come 
within  our  limits,  we  ought,  by  calling  together  our  families,  to 
maintain  the  dignity  of  our  city  (or  province),  and,  bravely  rush- 
ing upon  them,  kill  every  one.  Thus  may  we,  in  the  first  place, 
appease  the  anger  of  Heaven,  in  the  second  give  evidence  of  our 
loyalty  and  patriotism,  and  in  the  third  restore  peace  and  quiet  in 
our  homes.  How  great  would  be  the  happiness  we  should  thus 
secure ! "  Parkes  remonstrated  vehemently  with  Yeh  against  the 
continued  publication  of  this  manifesto,  but  got  no  redress,  though 
the  effect  of  it  was  presently  illustrated  by  a  violent  and  most  un- 
provoked attack  which  was  made  upon  two  Englishmen  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  city. 

Affairs  had  now  reached  a  point  in  which  it  was  impossible 
for  Englishmen  to  preserve  their  dignity  and  to  maintain  peace, 
and  an  outrage  which  occurred  almost  immediately  after  the  as- 
sault just  referred  to,  was  of  so  flagrant  a  nature  that  it  ended 
in  a  declaration  of  war.  An  English  lorcha  named  the  Arrow, 
flying  the  British  flag,  was  boarded  when  at  anchor  at  Whampoa 
by  Chinese  officials,  who  hauled  down  the  flag  and  threw  it  with 
contempt  on  the  deck.    So  soon  as  the  news  of  this  outrage  reached 


SECOND    FOREIGN    WAR 


159 


1856 

the  British  consulate,  Parkes  wrote  to  Yeh  remonstrating  on  the 
action  of  his  subordinates,  who  added  to  their  guilt  by  carrying  off 
the  twelve  men  constituting  the  crew.  Yeh's  answer  was,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  evasive,  but  Parkes  was  persistent,  and  stated 
in  good  round  terms  that  he  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less 
than  an  ample  apology  and  the  instant  and  public  return  of  the 
captive  crew.  On  this,  in  the  true  Chinese  spirit,  Yeh  sent  back 
nine  of  the  men,  and  claimed  two  of  the  others  as  malefactors  and 
one  as  a  witness;  after,  however,  boxing  the  compass  of  evasion, 
he  was  compelled  eventually  to  deliver  up  the  twelve  sailors,  but 
in  so  underhand  a  way  did  he  effect  the  manumission  that  Parkes 
refused  to  receive  them,  and  repeated  his  demand  that  they  should 
be  returned  as  openly  as  they  had  been  carried  off.  Yeh  still 
remaining  recalcitrant.  Sir  John  Bowring  authorized  the  capture 
of  a  native  vessel  by  way  of  reprisal.  As  this  produced  no 
beneficial  effect,  he  recognized  that  matters  had  again  reached  that 
stage  when,  as  had  so  often  happened,  it  was  necessary  to  place  the 
affair  in  the  hands  of  the  admiral.  The  British  naval  forces  had 
become  so  accustomed  by  repeated  experience  to  capturing  the 
Bogue  forts  and  the  other  defenses  of  the  city  that  Sir  Michael 
Seymour  moved  almost  automatically  to  the  position  which  it  was 
necessary  to  take  up,  and  with  no  difficulty  forced  his  way  to 
Canton  after  having  made  himself  master  on  his  voyage  up  the 
river  of  the  fortifications  in  which  the  Chinese  so  foolishly  con- 
tinued to  trust.  Toward  the  end  of  October  the  admiral's  ships 
appeared  opposite  the  walls  of  Canton,  and  Sir  Michael  Seymour, 
after  having  warned  the  inhabitants  that  he  was  about  to  inflict 
punishment  on  their  obstinate  governor,  opened  fire  on  the 
official  residence  or  yamen.  Even  this  failed  to  bring  Yeh  to 
reason,  who  aggravated  his  offenses  by  issuing  the  following  ill- 
judged  proclamation:  "  The  English  barbarians  have  attacked  the 
provincial  city,  and  wounded  and  injured  our  soldiers  and  people. 
Their  crimes  are  indeed  of  the  most  heinous  nature.  Wherefore 
I  hereby  distinctly  command  you  to  join  together  to  exterminate 
them,  and  I  publicly  proclaim  to  all  the  military  and  people,  house- 
holders and  others,  that  you  should  unite  with  all  the  means  at 
your  command  to  assist  the  soldiers  and  militia  in  exterminating 
these  troublous  English  villains,  killing  them  wherever  you  meet 
them,  whether  on  shore  or  in  their  ships.  For  each  of  their  lives 
that  you  may  thus  take  you  shall  receive,  as  before,  thirty  dollars. 


160  CHINA 

1857 

All  ought  to  respect  and  obey,  and  neither  oppose  nor  disregard 
this  special  proclamation." 

It  was  plain  that  with  the  issuer  of  this  document  there  could 
be  no  exchange  of  compliments,  and  the  admiral,  having  shelled 
out  Yeh's  yamen,  breached  the  walls  of  the  city  with  his  guns,  and 
landed  a  party  to  accentuate  the  helpless  condition  of  the  town. 
Yeh's  vaunted  preparations  to  destroy  the  foreign  devils  proved, 
like  all  his  boasts,  to  be  of  no  value  when  brought  to  the  supreme 
test.  With  little  difficulty,  and  with  only  a  small  loss  of  men,  the 
wall  was  gained,  and  the  possession  of  a  city  gate  was  secured. 
Through  this  portal,  which  was  now  freely  opened  for  the  first 
time  to  foreigners.  Sir  Michael  Seymour  entered  with  Parkes  and 
visited  the  ruins  of  Yeh's  yamen.  Unfortunately  the  force  at  the 
admiral's  command  was  quite  insufficient  to  occupy  the  city 
effectively,  and  he  therefore  withdrew  his  men  to  the  ships,  and  at 
the  same  time  wrote  home  an  urgent  appeal  for  five  thousand  men 
to  enable  him  to  inflict  the  necessary  punishment  on  the  obstructive 
governor. 

It  was  plain  to  Lord  Clarendon,  who  was  at  this  time  foreign 
secretary,  that  the  matter  was  of  sufficient  importance  to  make  it 
necessary  that  a  man  with  higher  rank  than  that  of  Sir  John 
Bo  wring  should  be  on  the  spot  to  carry  on  the  necessary  negotia- 
tions. The  choice  of  the  cabinet  fell  upon  Lord  Elgin,  and  though 
the  natural  kindliness  of  his  disposition  made  him  too  often 
unwilling  to  inflict  well-merited  punishment,  and  inclined  him  to 
listen  with  too  ready  an  ear  to  the  excuses  and  apologies  of  the 
authorities,  he  yet  proved  himself  an  able  ambassador  and  a  skillful 
diplomatist.  With  as  little  delay  as  possible  he  sailed  for  China, 
taking  with  him  the  force  for  which  Sir  Michael  Seymour  had 
asked.  In  June,  1857,  he  arrived  at  Singapore,  where  his  progress 
was  stayed  by  an  urgent  letter  from  Lord  Canning,  the  governor- 
general  of  India,  informing  him  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Indian 
Mutiny,  and  begging  him  to  divert  his  troops  to  help  in  the  sup- 
pression of  a  revolt  which  threatened  British  sovereignty  in  the 
great  peninsula.  With  rare  unselfishness  Lord  Elgin  at  once 
acceded  to  the  request,  and,  as  events  proved,  he,  by  so  doing, 
rendered  eminent  service  to  the  Indian  Government.  Meanwhile 
the  withdrawal  of  Sir  Michael  Seymour's  troops  from  the  city  of 
Canton  inspired  the  Chinese  with  fresh  though  deluded  courage, 
and  gave  Yeh  an  opportunity  of  triumphantly  announcing  that  the 


SECOND     FOREIGN     WAR 


1857 


161 


English,  by  a  sudden  and  piratical  attack,  had  succeeded  in  break- 
ing into  the  city,  but  had  been  driven  off  by  the  indomitable  courage 
of  his  men. 

On  Lord  Elgin's  arrival  in  Hongkong  in  July,  he  found  that, 
though  Canton  had  been  evacuated,  a  series  of  minor  engagements 
had  been  carried  on  during  the  winter,  and  that  in  May  Sir 
Michael  Seymour  had  conducted  a  number  of  attacks  on  the  war 
junks  which  had  collected  in  the  creeks  and  rivers  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  city.  Happily  at  this  time  the  English  Commodore 
Keppel  was  on  the  station,  and  after  numerous  junks  had  with 
his  help  been  destroyed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Canton,  it  was 
determined  to  proceed  to  inflict  an  exemplary  punishment  on  the 
warships  collected  at  the  town  of  Fatshan.  Sir  Michael  Seymour 
himself  headed  the  advance,  while  Commodore  Keppel  had  the 
command  of  the  smaller  boats,  which  were  intended  to  deal  more 
directly  with  the  junks.  Meanwhile  a  force  of  marines  landed, 
and  carried  a  battery  above  the  town,  the  Chinese  retiring  sulkily, 
but  without  making  any  serious  resistance.  The  fighting  on  the 
river  was,  however,  of  a  more  stirring  kind.  The  fire  from  the  junks 
was  constant  and  fairly  well-directed,  in  spite  of  which  the  En- 
glish boats,  though  hit  time  after  time,  went  on.  Keppel,  at  the 
head  of  a  force  of  about  five  hundred  men,  took  in  the  position  at 
a  glance,  and,  imitating  the  tactics  of  Nelson  at  Trafalgar,  charged 
into  the  middle  of  the  fleet  and  broke  the  center.  He  himself, 
followed  by  the  men  of  his  boat,  boarded  the  largest  junk,  out  of 
which  the  Chinese  sailors  fled  with  alacrity  as  the  Englishmen 
appeared  upon  deck.  In  this  instance  flight  was,  however,  not 
altogether  to  be  attributed  to  cowardice.  They  had,  as  it  proved, 
lighted  a  slow  match  connected  with  the  powder  magazine,  and 
Keppel's  men  had  only  just  retired  from  the  deserted  ship  when  she 
blew  up.  So  far  a  complete  victory  had  b6en  gained.  A  number 
of  junks  had  been  given  to  the  flames,  others  had  been  taken  as 
spoil,  while  a  few  only  had  escaped  up  the  intricate  waters  which 
surround  Fatshan.  Though  his  loss  of  men  had  been  considerable, 
and  though  a  decisive  victory  had  been  achieved,  Keppel,  thirsting 
for  fresh  laurels,  was  minded  to  attack  and  take  the  town  of 
Fatshan.  Opposite  that  city  a  fleet  of  junks,  whose  fire  was  un- 
usually well-directed  as  before,  was  formed  in  a  serried  line.  Kep- 
pel's boat  was  sunk  under  him,  and  though  he  again  succeeded  in 
destroying  the  fleet,  his  hand  was  stayed,  for  the  admiral,  deeming 


162  CHINA 

1857 

further  operations  to  be  dangerous,  gave  the  signal  to  retire.  These 
disasters  to  the  Chinese  arms  made  no  impression  upon  the 
obdurate  Yeh,  who  amused  his  imperial  master  with  a  grotesque 
travesty  of  the  engagements  fought,  and  described  with  some 
approach  to  humor  how  "  Elgin  passes  day  after  day  at  Hongkong, 
stamping  his  foot  and  sighing." 

But  it  is  ill  jesting  when  the  enemy  is  at  your  gates,  and  Yeh 
was  soon  to  discover  that  Lord  Elgin  was  not  a  foe  at  whom  it  was 
safe  to  laugh.  The  English  ambassador,  on  arrival,  had  notified 
his  presence  to  Yeh,  and  had  set  forth  his  demands,  which  were, 
roughly  speaking,  the  complete  fulfillment  of  all  the  treaty  con- 
ditions so  far  as  Canton  was  concerned,  and  the  payment  of  an 
indemnity  for  the  British  losses  sustained,  owing  to  the  action  of 
the  Canton  authorities.  This  letter  Yeh  affected  to  treat  with 
indifference,  and  had  the  coolness  to  suggest  that  the  trade  of  the 
port  should  be  revived  on  the  old  conditions,  and  that  each  party  in 
the  dispute  should  bear  its  own  losses.  There  being  no  sign  of  a 
just  appreciation  of  the  position  in  the  answer  of  this  inveterate 
obstructionist,  Lord  Elgin  presented  an  ultimatum  on  Christmas 
Day,  1857,  giving  him  forty-eight  hours  for  the  evacuation  of  the 
city  by  his  troops.  To  this  communication  Yeh  vouchsafed  no 
answer,  and  the  forty-eight  hours  having  elapsed.  Sir  Michael 
Seymour  seized  Honan  and  prepared  for  an  assault  on  the  city. 
With  a  merciful  consideration  for  the  non-combatant  citizens, 
Parkes  issued,  and  personally  distributed,  proclamations  warning 
the  people  that  their  city  was  about  to  be  attacked,  and  explaining 
the  circumstances  which  had  led  to  this  extreme  measure.  Captain 
Hall,  R.N.,  assisted  Parkes  in  this  work  of  mercy,  and  happened 
"  in  one  of  his  rapid  descents  to  catch  a  mandarin  in  his  chair  not 
far  from  the  outer  gate.  The  captain  pasted  the  mandarin  up  in 
his  chair  with  the  Barbarian  papers,  pasted  the  chair  all  over  with 
them,  and  started  the  bearers  to  carry  this  new  advertising  van  into 
the  city.  The  Chinese  crowd,  always  alive  to  a  practical  joke, 
roared." 

On  the  morning  of  December  28  the  ships  opened  fire,  and  the 
next  day  an  assault  was  made  at  three  different  points  of  the  walls. 
The  result  was  the  repetition  of  the  old  story.  The  Chinese  made  no 
serious  defense,  and  in  an  hour  and  a  half  the  city  walls  were  in  Brit- 
ish hands.  Probably  Yeh  hoped  that  Sir  Michael  Seymour  would 
retire,  as  he  had  retired  before,  but  at  all  events  he  made  no  sign. 


SECOND     FOREIGN     WAR  168 

1857 

For  the  first  few  days  it  was  not  deemed  advisable,  for  fear  of  com- 
plications, for  the  troops  to  venture  into  the  narrow  and  crooked 
lanes  of  the  city,  but  as  the  Chinese  showed  no  symptoms  of  sur- 
render, detachments  were  subsequently  moved  into  the  town.  No 
resistance  was  offered,  and  Pikwei,  the  governor,  was  taken 
prisoner  in  his  yamen,  while  the  provincial  treasury  was  seized.  A 
considerable  amount  of  silver  was  there  found,  and  with  the  help  of 
coolies,  who  were  picked  up  in  the  street,  and  who  readily  volun- 
teered for  the  work,  it  was  safely  carried  off  to  the  English  camp. 
The  capture  of  Pikwei  was  satisfactory,  but  the  great  object  of 
the  search  was  for  the  offending  viceroy.  Parkes,  who  had  of  late 
been  his  great  opponent,  heading  a  search  party  commanded  by 
Captain  Key,  sought  everywhere  for  him.  At  length  his  hiding- 
place  was  discovered.  He  had  taken  refuge  in  a  small  yamen 
in  the  southwest  portion  of  the  city.  Thither  the  search-party 
hurried,  and  as  they  entered  they  found  the  rooms  crowded  with 
mandarins,  who  were  hastily  packing  up  their  wordly  goods 
preparatory  to  flight.  In  answer  to  Parkes's  inquiries  for  Yeh,  a 
mandarin  stepped  forward  and  declared  himself  to  be  the  object  of 
their  search.  Parkes,  however,  who  had  seen  a  portrait  of  the 
viceroy,  put  this  devoted  follower  aside,  and  hastened  with  true 
instinct  into  the  back  part  of  the  yamen.  There  he  arrived  just  in 
time  to  see  a  corpulent  mandarin  struggling  to  climb  over  the  wall 
at  the  rear  of  the  yamen.  He  at  once  recognized  his  prey,  and  a 
sailor,  catching  the  would-be  fugitive  by  the  pigtail,  made  a  captive 
of  him. 

An  investigation  of  Yeh's  boxes  revealed  many  things,  and 
among  others  the  ratified  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  which  had 
evidently  been  considered  too  insignificant  to  be  deposited  in  the 
archives  of  Peking — a  strange  commentary  on  the  value  attached 
to  treaties  by  the  Chinese  Government.  It  was  plainly  impossible 
that,  after  all  that  had  passed,  Yeh  should  be  allowed  to  remain  at 
large,  and  he  was  therefore  placed  on  board  ship,  and  carried  off 
to  exile  in  Calcutta,  where  he  eventually  died.  A  characteristic 
incident  occurred  while  he  was  being  taken  to  the  wharf  at  Canton. 
On  his  way  through  the  streets,  escorted  by  his  foreign  captors,  the 
coolies  laughed  and  jeered  at  the  fallen  condition  of  their  former 
oppressor.  It  is  probable  that  few  men  have  made  themselves  more 
detested  than  Yeh.  His  cruelty  was  excessive,  and  he  is  said  to 
have  executed  a  hundred  thousand  rebels  during  his  viceroyalty 


164  CHINA 

1858 

of  four  years.  A  day  or  two  before  the  assault  on  the  city, 
undeterred  by  the  difficulty  of  his  foreign  policy,  he  sent  four 
hundred  of  these  evildoers  to  the  execution  ground,  and,  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  his  memory  will  long  be  associated  with  all 
that  is  brutal  and  savage.  Yeh,  having  thus  been  disposed  of,  it 
was  necessary  that  arrangements  should  be  made  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  city.  Pikwei  was  reestablished  as  governor,  and  a 
commission  of  three,  consisting  of  Parkes,  Colonel  Holloway,  of 
the  Marines,  and  a  French  naval  officer,  was  appointed  to  admin- 
ister affairs.  For  three  years,  under  the  sway  of  these  officers,  a 
just  and  equitable  rule  was  substituted  for  the  tyranny  which  had 
up  to  that  time  disgraced  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  city. 
The  change  was  fully  appreciated  by  the  natives,  who,  for  the  first 
time  in  their  existences,  had  their  property  guarded  and  their  lives 
protected. 

This  important  matter  having  been  arranged.  Lord  Elgin  was 
free  to  deal  with  the  questions  of  his  country's  relations  with  China, 
and  as  a  preliminary  step  forwarded  a  letter  to  the  chief  secretary 
of  state  at  Peking,  giving  the  course  events  had  taken  in  the  south, 
and  declaring  the  concessions  which  he  demanded  before  peace 
could  be  reestablished.  To  this  communication  he  received  from 
his  correspondent  the  following  reply,  which  was  addressed  not 
to  him,  but  to  the  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces.  "  I  have 
perused  the  letter  received,  and  have  acquainted  myself  with  its 
contents.  In  the  ninth  month  of  the  year  [1856]  the  English 
opened  their  guns  on  the  provincial  city  [Canton],  bombarding 
and  burning  buildings  and  dwellings,  and  attacked  and  stormed 
its  forts.  .  .  .  These  are  facts  of  which  all  foreigners  are  alike 
aware.  The  seizure  of  a  minister  and  the  occupation  of  a  pro- 
vincial city  belonging  to  us,  as  on  this  occasion  has  been  the 
case,  are  facts  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  past.  His 
Majesty  the  emperor  is  magnanimous  and  considerate.  He  has 
been  pleased  by  a  decree,  which  we  have  had  the  honor  to  receive, 
to  degrade  Yeh  from  the  viceroyalty  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces 
for  his  maladministration,  and  to  dispatch  his  Excellency  Hwang 
to  Kwangtung  as  imperial  commissioner  in  his  stead,  to  investigate 
and  decide  with  impartiality;  and  it  will  of  course  behoove  the 
English  minister  to  wait  in  Kwantung,  and  there  make  his 
arrangements.  No  imperial  commissioner  ever  conducts  business 
at  Shanghai  [Lord  Elgin  had  proposed  a  meeting  at  this  place]. 


SECOND     FOREIGN     WAR  165 

1868 

There  being  a  particular  sphere  of  duty  allotted  to  every  official 
on  the  establishment  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  and  the  principle  that 
between  them  and  the  foreigner  there  is  no  intercourse,  being  one 
ever  religiously  adhered  to  by  the  servants  of  our  Government  of 
China,  it  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  reply  in  person  to  the 
English  minister.  Let  your  Excellency  therefore  transmit  to 
him  all  that  I  have  said  above,  and  thus  his  letter  will  not  be  left 
unanswered,"  etc. 

This  communication  left  little  hope  for  the  continuance  of 
peaceful  negotiations,  and  Lord  Elgin  determined  to  proceed  to  the 
Peiho,  from  which  coign  of  vantage  he,  however,  again  wrote  to 
the  chief  secretary,  advising  him  that  he  was  ready  to  receive  any 
properly  accredited  plenipotentiary  for  the  discussion  of  matters 
in  dispute.  With  their  usual  discourtesy  the  emperor's  government 
dispatched  three  commissioners  of  very  inferior  rank,  and  quite 
unendowed  with  the  necessary  powers  to  treat.  Lord  Elgin 
naturally  declined  to  communicate  with  such  men,  and,  rightly 
considering  their  appointment  an  additional  provocation,  he  re- 
quested Sir  Michael  Seymour  to  assault  and  take  the  Taku  forts. 
This  was  no  difficult  task,  and  the  way  being  now  effectively  open. 
Lord  Elgin  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Tientsin. 

The  capture  of  the  Taku  forts,  which  had  been  armed  accord- 
ing to  the  most  approved  methods  of  Chinese  military  science,  dis- 
concerted the  Peking  Government  not  a  little,  and  the  necessity  of 
appointing  commissioners  with  plenipotentiary  powers  was  forced 
on  the  stolid  intelligence  of  the  emperor's  advisers.  In  an  edict 
issued  on  June  i  the  summary  dismissal  of  the  former  envoys  was 
announced,  and  the  appointment  of  Kweiliang  and  Hwashana, 
both  officials  of  high  standing  in  the  capital,  to  confer  with  Lord 
Elgin  at  Tientsin  was  made  public.  The  approach  of  the  British 
troops  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital  influenced  in  a  marked 
degree  the  attitude  of  the  commissioners,  who  at  once  assumed  a 
friendly  air,  and  discussed  the  matters  in  dispute  in  a  most  con- 
ciliatory spirit.  While  negotiations  were  in  progress  Kiying,  who 
it  will  be  remembered  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  Nanking  Treaty,  suddenly  appeared  upon  the  scene  with  secret 
orders  to  induce  Lord  Elgin,  by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to 
sanction  the  withdrawal  of  the  British  troops  from  the  river.  The 
proposal  was  too  preposterously  Chinese  to  be  listened  to  for  a 
moment,  and  Kiying  returned  to  Peking  to  announce  his  failure, 


166 


CHINA 


1858 

and  to  meet  his  death.  The  unfortunate  envoy  was  at  once  thrown 
into  prison,  and  as  an  act  of  grace  was  allowed  to  strangle  himself 
in  his  cell,  instead  of  being  decapitated  on  the  execution  ground. 
After  much  discussion  a  treaty  was  signed  by  which  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Queen  of  England  might  appoint  a  resident  minister  at 
Peking;  that  in  addition  to  the  five  ports  already  open  to  trade,  the 
ports  of  Newchwang,  Tengchow,  Formosa,   Swatow,  and  Kiung 


THE  TREATT  PORTS 

■♦•  OpeiTtd  by  mnKiry  treaty  1942 
ta  Opfatd.  bytitjitim  treaty  ios6 


Chow  in  the  island  of  Hainan  should  be  opened  as  treaty  ports; 
and  that  the  traffic  in  opium  should  be  legalized.  Considerable 
credit  should  be  given  to  American  influence  for  the  final  settle- 
ment at  Tientsin.  From  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  Amer- 
icans, or  "  New  People,"  as  the  Chinese  styled  them,  had  been  in 
rather  greater  national  favor  than  the  English  and  were  able  to 
exert  a  sort  of  moral  pressure  in  the  present  crisis. 

But  though  the  treaty  was  signed  on  June  26  and  received 


SECOND     FOREIGN     WAR  167 

1858 

the  emperor's  ratification  on  July  4,  the  commissioners,  before 
the  ink  was  dry  that  testified  their  agreement  to  the  clause,  used 
their  best  endeavors  to  postpone  the  condition  which  gave  Eng- 
land the  right  to  appoint  the  resident  minister  at  the  court. 
The  old  familiar  arguments  were  once  more  furbished  up  to  do 
duty  on  this  occasion.  Lord  Elgin  was  assured  that  the  people 
of  Peking  were  turbulent  and  unruly,  and  that  the  advent  of  a 
minister  with  his  staff  within  the  walls  of  Peking  would  give 
rise  to  outrages  and  riots,  which  the  government  would  be  unable 
to  prevent,  and  which  would  embitter  relations  between  the  two 
countries.  Lord  Elgin  so  far  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the 
commissioners  as  to  agree  that  for  the  time  being  the  right  should 
be  waived,  and  that  it  would  be  used  only  temporarily  in  the 
following  year,  when  it  would  become  necessary  to  exchange 
the  ratifications. 

But  while  the  words  of  Kweiliang  and  Hwashana  were 
smoother  than  butter,  war  was  in  their  hearts,  and  at  the  very 
moment  when  they  were  agreeing  to  the  treaty  with  warm  profes- 
sions of  friendliness,  they  were  making  every  arrangement  for 
renewing  the  campaign  against  the  hated  foreigners  so  soon  as  the 
occasion  should  offer.  This  compact  having  been  ostensibly  com- 
pleted, and  there  being  nothing  further  to  detain  Lord  Elgin  in  the 
north,  he  returned  to  Hongkong,  where  he  found  that  though 
the  people  of  Canton  were  showing  an  amicable  attitude  toward  the 
foreign  garrison,  the  mandarins  were  doing  their  utmost  to  stir  up 
strife,  and  were  again  offering  rewards  for  Barbarian  heads.  In 
this  savage  barter  a  sliding  scale  was  introduced,  which  varied 
from  a  small  sum  for  the  life  of  a  soldier  to  as  much  as  $30,000 
for  Parkes,  dead  or  alive.  From  a  mistaken  desire  to  keep  the 
peace,  the  garrison  had  hitherto  been  confined  within  the  city  walls, 
and  liberty  was  thus  given  to  the  neighboring  villagers  to  con- 
centrate forces  and  establish  camps,  preparatory  to  an  attack  on  the 
British.  It  was  well  known  that  a  number  of  these  associations 
were  within  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  city,  and  it  was 
eventually  thought  desirable  to  employ  expeditions  to  dissipate 
the  forces  of  these  would-be  disturbers  of  the  peace.  A  successful 
expedition  of  this  kind  was  made  against  the  "  ninety-six  "  villages 
on  the  north  of  the  city,  and  Shektsing,  a  place  of  considerable 
strength,  was  carried  after  some  show  of  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  local  troops.    The  effect  of  this  sortie  was  most  wholesome,  and 


168 


CHINA 


1858 

an  armed  visit  to  the  formerly  riotous  town  of  Fayuan  not  only 
did  not  meet  with  opposition,  but  was  cordially  received.  Even  in 
those  days  the  importance  of  the  West  River,  which  later  has  been 
opened  to  trade,  was  appreciated  by  Parkes  and  others,  and  at  their 
instigation  it  was  determined  to  explore  in  force  the  waters  of  that 
important  stream.  Again  the  expedition  met  with  a  ready 
reception,  and  successfully  explored  the  river  as  far  as  Wuchow 
Fu,  the  highest  town  on  its  banks  which  has  yet  been  opened  as 
a  treaty  port.  The  effect  of  these  military  parades  surpassed 
expectation,  and  reacted  so  favorably  on  the  streets  of  Canton 
that  they  became  as  safe  as  the  thoroughfares  of  London  or 
New  York. 


Chapter    IX 

THE  ANGLO-FRENCH  WARS.     1859-1860 

IN  the  following  year,  1859,  it  became  necessary  to  send  to 
Peking  an  ambassador  to  exchange  the  ratifications  of  the 
treaty,  and  Lord  Elgin's  brother,  Mr.  Bruce,  was  chosen  for 
the  office,  and  arrived  at  Shanghai  in  due  course.  He  had  been 
warned  by  Lord  Malmesbury,  the  foreign  secretary,  that  the 
Chinese  would  probably  use  every  endeavor  to  dissuade  him  from 
going  to  the  capital,  and  he  was  instructed  to  insist  at  all  costs  on 
this  clause  of  the  treaty  being  fulfilled.  He  had  no  sooner  landed 
on  the  wharf  at  Shanghai  than  the  truth  of  Lord  Malmesbury's 
words  became  apparent.  Kweiliang  and  Hwashana  were  already 
waiting  for  him,  in  the  vain  hope  of  being  able  to  persuade  him  to 
forego  his  purpose.  At  the  same  time  reports  reached  him  that 
warlike  preparations  were  being  made  at  Taku  to  prevent  his 
passing  up  the  Peiho.  His  duty,  however,  was  plain,  and  by  an 
arrangement  with  Admiral  Hope,  who  commanded  on  the  station, 
a  considerable  fleet  accompanied  the  ambassador  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Peiho.  On  reaching  the  anchorage,  Bruce  dispatched  an  inter- 
preter with  a  letter  addressed  to  the  commandant  of  the  fort, 
announcing  his  arrival,  when  it  at  once  became  plain  that  the 
warlike  rumors  which  had  lately  filled  the  air  were  well  founded. 
The  interpreter  found  the  mouth  of  the  river  studded  with  heavy 
iron  stakes,  while  huge  chains  were  stretched  across  its  waters 
from  shore  to  shore.  The  guns  of  the  forts  were  screened  by  mats, 
but  it  was  plain  that  they  were  there  in  full  complement  and  were 
well  manned.  The  crowd  that  came  down  to  the  wharf  to  meet 
the  boat  refused  to  allow  the  interpreter  to  land,  but  a  man  who 
appeared  to  be  in  authority  promised  that  by  the  morrow  the 
stakes  should  be  removed  so  as  to  admit  the  ships  into  the  river. 
No  dependence  was  placed  on  this  man's  word,  more  especially  as 
it  was  abundantly  obvious  that  the  Chinese  meant  to  fight. 

On  the  following  day  Admiral  Hope,  with  a  force  of  eleven 
vessels   including  gunboats,   steamed  toward  the  river's  mouth. 

169 


170  CHINA 

1859-1860 

Some  of  the  stakes  had  already  been  removed  by  H.  M.  S.  Opos- 
sum, but  the  booms  remained,  and  the  leading  gunboats  no  sooner 
struck  these  obstacles  than  the  guns  from  the  forts  poured  a  storm 
of  shot  and  shell  upon  them.    So  terrible  was  the  fire  that  two  gun- 
boats were  quickly  sunk,  and  all  were  more  or  less  seriously  dam- 
aged.   The  admiral  was  wounded  and  many  of  the  officers  and  men 
were  killed.     It  being  plainly  impossible  to  force  the  passage  by 
water,   a   detachment   consisting   of   marines   and    engineers   was 
landed  in  the  hope  that  they  might  be  able  to  capture  the  forts  by 
storm.    With  desperate  gallantry  they  struggled  to  make  their  way 
through  the  deep  mud  which  lay  on  the  waterside  of  the  forts.    At 
every  step  they  sunk  above  their  knees,  while  the  troops  from  the 
walls  poured  a  destructive  fire  upon  them.     The  scaling  ladders 
were  broken  by  the  fire,  the  men's  rifles  were  in  many  cases  choked 
with  mud,  and  wide  ditches  half  full  of  water  added  a  further 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  their  enterprise.     Darkness  fell  while  they 
were  in  this  predicament,  and  reluctantly  they  were  obliged  to 
retire  to  their  boats.     In  this  engagement  three  gunboats  were 
lost,  and  three  hundred  men  were  killed  and  wounded.     It  being 
plain  that  to  renew  the  attack  with  a  thus  diminished  force  would 
be  inexcusable  rashness,  the  fleet  returned  to  Shanghai  to  await 
reinforcements.      The  news   of   the  defeat   of  the   English   was 
received  with  exultation  at  Peking,  and  exercised  an  unfortunate 
influence   on   the   natives   at   the   treaty   ports.     In    England   it 
produced  fierce  indignation,  and  by  all  parties  it  was  recognized 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  enforce  on  the  Chinese  the  lesson  that 
treachery,  in  dealing  with  a  friendly  power,  is  an  act  of  barbarism, 
and  must  inevitably  meet  with  punishment.     As  the  minister  of 
France  who  had  also  a  treaty  in  his  pocket  requiring  ratification 
had  equally  with  Bruce  been  refused  admission  to  the  Peiho  River, 
the  two   governments   agreed   to   make   a   joint   invasion   of  the 
"  Middle  Kingdom."     Shortly  after  this  arrangement  had  been 
reached  in   March,    i860,   Bruce  presented  an  ultimatum  to  the 
Chinese  Government,  calling  upon  it  within  thirty  days  to  make 
reparation   for   the   treacherous   attack   at   the   Taku    forts,   and 
further  to  fulfill  both  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  treaty.     The 
reply  to  his  communication  was  made  in  the  circuitous  way  usual. 
A  grand  secretary  of  state  replied  to  the  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang 
provinces,  and  directed  that  official  to  forward  a  copy  of  the  dis- 
patch to  Bruce.    The  language  of  the  reply  was  marked  by  more 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  171 

1859-1860 

than  usual  Chinese  hauteur,  and  ignored  altogether  the  obligations 
which  Bruce  attempted  to  fasten  on  the  government. 

Meanwhile,  Sir  Hope  Grant,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
command  the  British  force,  arrived  at  Hongkong  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  thirteen  thousand  men.  The  French  contingent,  con- 
sisting of  seven  thousand  rank  and  file,  and  commanded  by  General 
Montauban,  arrived  about  the  same  time.  So  soon  as  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  campaign  had  been  completed  the  allied  forces  sailed 
northward  and  rendezvoused  at  Talienwan,  above  Port  Arthur. 
Here  the  two  commanders  discussed  the  plan  of  campaign, 
Sir  Hope  Grant  wishing  to  begin  by  attacking  Pehtang,  a  forti- 
fied town  about  eight  miles  north  of  the  Peiho,  and  to  take 
the  Taku  forts  by  a  circuitous  route  in  rear,  while  Montauban 
considered  that  to  land  in  the  mud  to  the  south  of  Taku  would 
be  the  shortest  way  to  victory.  The  British  plan  of  attack  was 
so  plainly  preferable  that  it  was  finally  adopted,  much  to  the 
consternation  and  surprise  of  the  Chinese  commanders,  whose 
limited  intelligences  would  have  laid  it  down  that  the  Peiho, 
being  the  recognized  road  to  Peking,  the  Allies  were  in  duty  bound 
to  begin  the  game  by  an  attack  on  the  Taku  forts.  Fully  possessed 
with  this  opinion,  they  had  made  little  effort  to  fortify  Pehtang, 
and  the  chief  enemy  that  the  troops  found  on  landing  was  the  deep 
mud,  through  which  they  were  obliged  to  flounder  in  order  to 
reach  the  raised  causeway  which  connected  Pehtang  with  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Peiho  River.  Sankolinsin,  a  cousin  of  the 
emperor,  was  at  the  time  in  command  at  Taku  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  though  fairly  taken  by  surprise  by  the  descent  of  the 
Allies  on  the  coast,  had  the  assurance  to  report  to  his  imperial 
kinsman  that  he  had  purposely  allowed  the  Barbarians  to  land. 
He  explained  his  design  by  saying  that  foreigners  were  aquatic 
creatures,  and  though  formidable  on  board  ship,  were  helpless  on 
shore.  His  plan  was,  therefore,  to  entice  them  from  their  ships, 
and  to  overwhelm  them  when  thus  robbed  of  the  support  in  which 
their  great  strength  lay. 

The  struggle  at  Taku  was  recognized  as  of  vital  importance, 
and  Hang  Fu,  the  viceroy  of  the  province,  took  up  his  quarters 
at  the  village  of  Taku  that  he  might  the  more  readily  superintend 
the  warlike  operations.  The  disposition  of  Sankolinsin's  troops 
was  at  first  such  as  to  appear  that  he  really  had  faith  in  the  plan 
which  he  had  unfolded  to  his  imperial  master.     As  the  Allies 


172  CHINA 

1860 

advanced  from  Pehtang,  small  detachments  of  Manchu  cavalry 
appeared  on  the  scene  on  all  sides,  and  as  hastily  retired,  as  though 
to  induce  a  further  advance.  If  such  was  their  design  they  were 
not  disappointed,  for  with  set  purpose  the  Allies  marched  on 
steadily  to  the  object  of  their  attack,  the  Taku  forts.  So  soon  as 
the  news  of  the  landing  at  Pehtang  reached  Sankolinsin  he 
ordered  the  construction  of  a  number  of  entrenchments  to  protect 
the  rear  of  the  forts,  which,  like  most  Chinese  fortifications,  were 
strong  on  the  side  from  which  attack  was  expected,  but  weak  else- 
where. These  entrenchments  with  the  neighboring  village  of 
Sinho  were  flanked  and  protected  by  a  huge  body  of  cavalry,  who 
owed  their  full  equipment  to  one  of  those  dishonest  subterfuges 
which  excite  no  astonishment  in  the  Chinese  army.  Twenty  thou- 
sand of  these  horsemen  had  been  collected,  on  paper,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Peking,  and  for  this  number  without  deduction  the 
general  in  command  regularly  drew  full  pay  and  rations.  On  the 
few  occasions  during  the  year  when  it  was  necessary  to  testify  to 
the  existence  of  the  force,  it  was  his  habit  to  enlist  men  and  hire 
horses  for  the  time  being.  Being  suddenly  ordered  on  service  he 
resorted  to  this  time-honored  expedient,  and  when  he  had  thus 
extemporized  a  full  muster  he  marched  his  unsuspecting  victims 
off,  on  pain  of  death,  to  face  the  Allies.  Curiously  enough  these 
men  fought  well,  and  on  one  or  two  occasions  charged  up  to  the 
very  guns.  They  further  helped  to  defend  the  entrenchments  with 
courage,  but,  in  the  congenial  company  of  the  infantry  battalions, 
on  the  first  reverse  they  melted  away  and  left  Sinho  unprotected. 
The  rapid  advance  of  the  Allies  was  not  according  to  the  methods 
of  Chinese  warfare,  and  when  the  Barbarians  presented  themselves 
before  the  farther  village  of  Tangku  the  Chinese  troops  were 
enjoying  their  breakfast.  So  quickly  was  the  affair  over  and  with 
such  speed  did  the  Chinese  soldiers  run  that  it  was  said  that  the 
dishes  on  the  tables  were  still  warm  when  the  enemies'  hungry 
troops  took  the  chairs  vacated  by  the  flying  enemy. 

There  had  been  some  differences  of  opinion  between  Sir  Hope 
Grant  and  General  Montauban  as  to  the  plan  of  attack  on  the  forts. 
Sir  Hope  Grant  being  of  the  opinion  that  one  of  the  forts  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river  was  the  key  of  the  position,  while 
Montauban  would  have  liked  to  have  crossed  the  river  and  stormed 
the  southern  fort.  Montauban  was  a  gallant  soldier  but  a  bad 
strategist,  as  was  constantly  proved  during  the  campaign,  and  in 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  173 

I860 

the  present  case  the  result  fully  justified  Sir  Hope  Grant's  view  of 
the  position. 

From  the  Chinese  standpoint  the  position  was  rapidly  be- 
coming critical,  and  Hang  Fu  resorted  to  the  usual  Chinese 
practice  of  attempting  to  gain  time  by  drawing  the  British  minister 
into  a  correspondence.  With  childlike  simplicity  he  wrote  to  ask 
the  reason  of  that  "  hostile  appearance  at  Pehtang,  while  the  two 
nations  were  still  at  peace,  and  on  terms  of  friendly  relationship; 
if  any  questions  did  require  settlement,  he  begged  that  Lord  Elgin 
would  appoint  some  time  and  place  for  a  meeting,  so  that  they 
might  be  amicably  discussed  and  arranged."  The  only  answer 
Lord  Elgin  vouchsafed  to  this  communication,  and  to  many  others 
which  followed  on  it,  was  that  "  the  only  terms  on  which  he  would 
consent  to  stay  naval  and  military  proceedings  were  the  un- 
qualified acceptance  of  the  ultimatum  sent  to  the  court  of  Peking 
by  Bruce,  and  the  surrender  of  the  Peiho  forts  into  English  hands." 
As  Hang  Fu  carefully  ignored  these  conditions  in  all  his  letters, 
the  Allies  continued  their  advance  against  the  Taku  forts.  These 
"  were  surrounded  by  a  thick  mud  wall,  pierced,  about  ten  feet 
from  the  top,  for  artillery;  jingals  were  mounted  on  the  upper 
parapet,  which  was  also  loopholed;  surrounding  the  walls  on  the 
inside  were  covered  buildings  resembling  in  some  degree  case- 
mates, but  they  were  not  shellproof;  a  high  cavalier  rose  in  the 
center  of  the  fort,  mounting  three  or  four  very  heavy  guns,  the 
embrasures  facing  seaward,  but  the  guns  could  be  slewed  round  in 
any  direction;  around  the  outer  wall  were  two,  in  some  cases 
three,  mud  ditches,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  broad,  full  of  water, 
the  ground  between  the  ditches  being  protected  by  sharp-pointed 
bamboo  stakes  driven  deep  into  the  earth,  and  placed  so  close  to 
each  other  as  not  to  admit  of  a  person  standing  between  them. 
The  south  side  of  the  northern  forts  rested  on  the  Peiho,  which 
flowed  at  the  base  of  the  wall."  The  pieces  of  ordnance  which 
manned  the  embrasures  were  mostly  of  native  construction,  though 
some  few  proved  to  be  English  guns  which  had  been  recovered 
from  the  sunken  gunboats  of  the  year  before. 

The  attack  began  by  an  artillery  fire  against  the  walls  of  the 
fort.  This  had  not  lasted  long  when  an  alarming  explosion 
occurred  within  the  mud  defenses.  To  onlookers  this  accident 
appeared  to  involve  the  destruction  of  the  fort.  This  was  not  the 
case,  however,  and  when  the  dust  and  smoke  cleared  away    the 


174  CHINA 

1860 

Chinese  soldiers  turned  again  to  their  guns  in  the  vain  hope  of 
checking  the  advancing  foes.  When  it  was  considered  that  the  fire 
had  made  storming  possible,  orders  were  given  for  the  assault. 
In  preparation  for  the  campaign,  a  native  coolie  corps,  several 
thousand  strong,  had  been  enlisted  at  Canton,  and  had  been  care- 
fully drilled  in  the  duties  which  were  expected  of  them.  Though 
the  men  perfectly  understood  that  they  would  be  called  upon  to 
assist  in  a  hostile  invasion  of  their  native  land,  they  showed  every 
alacrity  in  the  service,  and  it  was  evident  that  patriotism  with  them 
weighed  nothing  in  the  scale  against  the  regular  pay  and  ample 
rations  which  they  received  from  their  country's  enemies.  During 
the  artillery  duel  before  the  fort  these  men  had  stood,  with  the 
scaling  ladders,  ready  to  advance  to  the  walls,  and  at  the  word  of 
command  ran  readily  forward  and,  planting  their  ladders  against 
the  fort,  helped  the  storming  party  up.  There  was  the  usual 
result,  for  though  the  Chinese  garrison  fought  with  some  bravery 
they  were  speedily  vanquished.  So  soon  as  the  garrison  of  the 
outer  northern  fort  (there  were  two  large  forts  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river  and  three  on  the  south)  saw  that  the  Allies  had 
secured  this  first  position,  they  hoisted  white  flags  and  allowed  the 
Allied  troops  to  march  in  without  firing  a  shot.  A  curious  sight 
met  the  eyes  of  the  victors  as  they  entered.  Two  thousand  men 
were  seated  on  the  ground  who  neither  moved  nor  spoke.  "  They 
had  thrown  away  their  arms  and  had  divested  themselves  of  all 
uniform  or  distinctive  badges  that  could  distinguish  them  as  being 
soldiers." 

These  men  were  made  prisoners,  but  doubt  was  still  felt  as  to 
the  attitude  of  the  garrisons  on  the  southern  side  of  the  river.  It 
is  true  that  white  flags  had  been  hoisted  on  the  forts  on  that  side, 
but  so  much  uncertainty  existed  as  to  the  meaning  of  these  symbols 
in  Chinese  hands  that  it  was  thought  advisable  to  communicate 
with  the  viceroy  and  to  receive  the  submission  of  the  fortress  from 
him  before  crossing  the  river  in  force.  Parkes,  Loch,  and  Major 
Anson  were  therefore  sent  across  to  Taku  to  find  the  redoubtable 
Hang  Fu.  This  astute  official  received  them  hospitably,  showing 
at  the  same  time  a  suspicious  inclination  to  detain  them  as  long  as 
possible.  It  subsequently  transpired  that  his  intentions  were  really 
the  very  opposite  to  his  professions,  and  that  while  plying  them 
with  tea  and  sweetmeats  his  emissaries  were  engaged  in  searching 
for  Sankolinsin,  with  a  view  to  making  his  visitors  prisoners. 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  175 

1860 

Fortunately  for  them,  Sankolinsin,  alter  the  fall  of  the  northern 
forts,  had  mounted  his  horse  and  ridden  to  Peking.  In  a  memorial 
which  at  this  time  he  addressed  to  the  throne,  he  admitted  that  the 
Barbarians  had  captured  the  forts,  but  besought  the  emperor  not  to 
be  the  least  alarmed,  as  his  troops  were  still  well  able  to  protect  the 
capital  from  the  presence  of  the  presumptuous  foe.  When  Hang 
Fu's  emissaries  returned  to  their  master  and  reported  the  flight  of 
the  defeated  general,  he  allowed  his  foreign  guests  to  depart,  who 
on  their  way  back  discovered  that  a  small  force  had  already,  during 
their  absence,  taken  possession  of  the  southern  forts. 

The  road  to  Tientsin  was  now  open,  and  the  admiral  lost  no 
time  in  clearing  away  the  obstructions  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
These  were  of  an  extremely  formidable  character.  Huge  pointed 
iron  stakes,  each  several  tons  in  weight,  were  securely  fastened 
in  the  mud,  while  two  huge  booms,  kept  afloat  by  immense  earthen 
water-jars,  made  the  entrance  to  the  river  impossible.  With  much 
difficulty  these  were  removed,  and  the  smaller  vessels  of  the  fleet 
peaceably  steamed  by  the  embrasures  which  had  wrought  such 
havoc  in  the  preceding  year.  Meanwhile  Hang  Fu  had  started  for 
Tientsin,  where  he  met  Hanki,  the  late  Hoppo  of  Canton,  and 
Wangts'iian,  who  had  been  hastily  dispatched  from  Peking  to 
stay,  if  possible,  the  advance  of  the  foreigners.  One  great  annoy- 
ance experienced  by  the  mandarins  at  this  time  was  the  attitude 
which  the  natives  assumed  toward  the  invaders.  In  1858,  when 
Lord  Elgin  first  went  up  to  Tientsin,  the  people  in  the  villages 
through  which  he  had  passed  had  fallen  on  their  knees  before  him, 
and  had  presented  propitiatory  offerings  to  mitigate  his  supposed 
wrath.  Their  experience  had  taught  them,  however,  that  so  long 
as  they  maintained  a  peaceful  demeanor  they  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  Englishmen,  and  on  this  occasion  when  he  and  his  colleague, 
Baron  Gros,  advanced  through  the  same  hamlets  the  people  had, 
without  cringing  or  undue  adulation,  offered  the  produce  of  their 
fields  and  gardens  readily  for  sale.  A  similar  attitude  adopted  by 
the  men  of  the  Coolie  corps  was  referred  to  in  a  memorial  by 
Sankolinsin,  which  was  discovered  in  the  archives  of  the  Summer 
Palace,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  Allied  forces  were  for  the  most 
part  composed  of  Cantonese,  who  had  joined  the  invaders  for  the 
sake  of  profit;  and  he  recommended  that  an  offer  of  additional 
pay  and  perquisites  should  be  made  to  bribe  them  to  come  over  in 
a  body  to  the  imperial  side.     Parkes,  who  was  sent  in  advance  to 


176  CHINA 

I860 

Tientsin,  found  the  people  there  of  the  same  mind  with  the 
villagers.  They  eagerly  responded  to  his  inquiries  after  pro- 
visions, and  voluntarily  formed  a  committee  of  supply  to  provide 
commissariat  stores  for  the  army. 

At  Tientsin  Hang  Fu  was  on  the  watch  for  Lord  Elgin,  and 
no  sooner  had  the  steamer  carrying  the  ambassador  anchored  off 
the  Bund  than  the  viceroy  appeared  and  invited  him  to  become  his 
guest  during  his  stay  in  the  city.  This  was  a  piece  of  naivete  to 
which  only  a  Chinaman  could  have  been  equal,  and  Lord  Elgin 
curtly  informed  him  that  the  Allied  troops  being  now  in  occupation 
of  Tientsin,  he  should  take  up  his  residence  in  the  building  which 
suited  him  best.  The  advance  of  the  Barbarian  forces  had 
produced  some  consternation  at  Peking,  and  the  emperor  dis- 
patched the  Grand  Secretary  Kweiliang,  who  had  been  one  of  the 
signatories  of  the  treaty  of  1858,  to  join  Hang  Fu  in  arranging  a 
peace  with  the  foreigners.  Without  any  loss  of  time  the  com- 
missioners sought  to  open  negotiations  with  Lord  Elgin,  who  met 
their  overtures  by  replying  that  the  conditions  on  which  he  was 
prepared  to  suspend  hostilities  were  as  follows :  "  First,  an 
apology  for  the  attack  on  the  Allied  forces  at  Peiho.  Second,  the 
ratification  and  execution  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin.  Third,  the 
payment  of  an  indemnity  to  the  Allies  for  the  expenses  of  the  naval 
and  military  preparations." 

With  apparent  readiness  the  commissioners  agreed  to  these 
terms,  but  raised,  as  has  always  been  their  wont,  a  number  of 
objections  on  matters  of  detail.  It  is  a  recognized  practice  among 
the  Chinese  in  similar  cases  to  send  in  the  first  instance  commis- 
sioners who  are  ostensibly  deputed  to  make  peace,  but  who  are 
denied  the  necessary  plenipotentiary  powers.  The  object  of  this 
maneuver  is  plain.  Should  the  commissioners  agree  to  any  terms 
distasteful  to  the  emperor,  it  is  open  to  him  to  ignore  the  agree- 
ment, on  the  plea  that  his  envoys  had  no  power  to  pledge  him  to 
any  terms.  During  the  late  war  with  Japan  two  of  these  futile 
missions  were  sent  to  negotiate  peace  before  full  powers  were 
granted  to  Li  Hung  Chang,  and  in  the  same  way,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  examine  the  credentials  of  Kweiliang  and  his  col- 
league, it  was  found  that  they  had  no  power  whatever  to  conclude 
a  convention.  Lord  Elgin,  therefore,  declined  further  negotia- 
tions with  them,  and  continued  his  march  northward,  at  the  same 
time  giving  them  notice  that  he  would  listen  to  no  further  over- 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  177 

I860 

tures  of  any  kind  until  he  had  arrived  at  Tungchow,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Peking. 

On  September  9  Lord  Elgin  and  Sir  Hope  Grant  left 
Tientsin,  and  a  day  or  two  later  reached  Hosiwu,  which  stands 
about  halfway  between  Tientsin  and  the  capital.  Here  they  were 
met  by  a  letter  from  Tsai,  Prince  of  I,  who  with  two  colleagues 
announced  his  arrival  to  treat.  At  the  same  time  he  took  occasion 
to  add  his  supreme  princely  astonishment  at  the  advance  of  the 
Allies  beyond  Tientsin,  and  strongly  urged  the  British  minister 
to  give  the  necessary  orders  for  the  troops  to  retreat.  This  pro- 
posal was  typical  of  the  native  folly  of  the  Chinese,  and  met  with 
the  answer  which  it  deserved.  The  prince  was  told  that  no  negotia- 
tions would  be  entered  upon  before  the  arrival  of  the  Allies  at 
Tungchow.  As  time  was  precious,  however,  and  as  the  autumn 
was  already  coming  on  apace.  Lord  Elgin  determined  to  send 
Wade  and  Parkes  in  advance  to  Tungchow,  there  to  negotiate  a 
preliminary  convention  with  the  commissioners.  The  commis- 
sioners received  these  envoys  with  cordiality,  and  the  Prince  of  I, 
who  was  possessed  of  a  fine  presence  and  courtly  bearing,  treated 
them  with  especial  civility.  After  a  discussion  of  eight  hours' 
duration,  terms  were  agreed  upon,  and  "  it  was  arranged  that  the 
Allied  armies  were  to  advance  within  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  Tung- 
chow, where  they  were  to  remain,  while  the  ambassadors  proceeded 
to  Peking  accompanied  by  a  large  escort.  It  was  agreed  also  that 
Parkes  was  to  return  on  Monday  to  Tungchow  to  make  a  few  final 
arrangements." 

On  the  day  appointed  Parkes,  accompained  by  Loch,  De 
Norman,  an  attache,  Bowlby,  the  Times  correspondent,  the  quarter- 
master-general of  cavalry,  Colonel  Walker,  and  Thompson  of  the 
commissariat,  with  an  escort  of  King's  Dragoon  Guards,  and 
Fane's  Horse,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Anderson,  started 
for  Tungchow.  On  the  road  they  met  with  some  cavalry  pickets, 
which  retired  as  they  advanced,  and  their  way  was  once  stopped  by 
a  mandarin  at  the  head  of  a  small  force  of  cavalry,  who  however 
let  them  pass  so  soon  as  he  became  aware  of  their  mission. 
Unexpectedly,  however,  the  commissioners,  who  before  had  been 
so  genial,  raised  countless  and  vexatious  objections  to  many  of 
the  points  which  had  been  agreed  upon,  and  more  especially  to  the 
reception  of  the  ambassador  at  Peking,  and  the  delivery  of  the 
letter  of  credence  to  the  emperor.     "  The  tone  adopted  by  the 


178  CHINA 

1860 

Prince  of  I  and  other  commissioners  was  almost  offensive,  and  they 
scarcely  cared  to  conceal  the  repugnance  with  which  they  viewed 
us,  and  their  disinclination  to  come  to  terms." 

After  a  lengthy  discussion,  however,  an  arrangement  was 
arrived  at,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night  Parkes  returned  to  his 
rooms,  with  a  draft  agreement  in  his  pocket.  Meanwhile  San- 
kolinsin  had  been  busily  employed.  He  was  deeply  concerned 
to  avenge  his  defeats  at  Taku,  and  he  thought  that  chance  had  now 
thrown  the  opportunity  into  his  hands.  In  conjunction  with  the 
commissioners  he  arranged  that  the  camping  ground,  which  it  was 
proposed  to  allot  to  the  Allied  troops,  should  be  so  situated  as  to 
enable  him  to  surround  it  with  his  warriors.  The  force  under  his 
command  consisted  of  eighty  thousand  men,  and  he  felt  confident 
that  in  a  surprise  attack  he  would  be  able  to  overwhelm,  once  and 
for  all,  the  four  or  five  thousand  Barbarians  who  were  pre- 
sumptuous enough  to  oppose  themselves  to  him.  Being  well  aware 
that  Parkes  would  be  early  on  the  field,  he  moved  his  troops  with 
secrecy  and  dispatch  to  their  allotted  posts.  But  not  so  secretly 
as  to  conceal  their  movements  entirely  from  the  observation  of 
Parkes  and  Loch,  who  had  ridden  out  between  five  and  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning  to  examine  the  camping  ground.  On  the  three 
sides  of  the  allotted  space  men  were  posted  behind  every  hillock,  in 
every  grove  of  trees,  and  in  the  deeper  water  courses.  Such  un- 
usual and  secret  preparations  at  once  induced  Parkes  to  recognize 
that  treachery  was  intended,  and  he  asked  Loch  to  ride  forward 
to  apprise  Sir  Hope  Grant  of  the  ambush  which  was  being  laid  for 
him,  while  he  returned  to  Tungchow  to  demand  from  the  com- 
missioners an  explanation  of  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs,  and 
to  warn  those  who  had  been  left  behind  of  their  danger. 

The  Prince  of  I,  whom  Parkes  after  difficulty  discovered,  had 
now  quite  thrown  off  his  disguise  of  the  evening  before,  and  curtly 
informed  his  unwelcome  visitor  that  until  the  question  of  deliver- 
ing the  letter  of  credence  was  settled  "  there  could  be  no  peace, 
there  must  be  war."  Loch,  with  that  rare  loyalty  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  regard  as  belonging  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  asked 
and  obtained  permission  to  return  to  Tungchow  "  to  rejoin  Parkes 
and  the  others,  to  urge  on  them  the  utmost  expedition,  and,  if 
possible,  to  endeavor  to  find  some  other  road  by  which  we  could 
extricate  ourselves." 

Captain  Brabazon  of  the  artillery  and  two  Sikhs  accompanied 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  179 

1860 

him,  and  after  experiencing  some  difficulty  in  getting  through  the 
Chinese  lines  the  party  reached  Tungchow.  Having  collected  all 
their  fellows,  they  returned  together  in  the  direction  of  the  British 
camp.  By  this  time  Sankolinsin  had  given  up  all  pretensions  to 
concealment,  and  the  escape  of  the  Englishmen  was  constantly 
impeded  by  the  masses  of  troops  which  were  marching  southward. 
The  camping  ground  itself  was  fully  occupied,  and  Parkes  and  his 
friends  at  last  found  their  way  barred  by  a  strong  detachment  of 
Chinese  troops.  The  Chinese  officer  in  command  refused  to  yield 
them  passage,  and  informed  Parkes  that  his  only  chance  of  safety 
lay  in  his  being  able  to  get  a  pass  through  the  lines  from  Sankolin- 
sin. As  this  appeared  to  be  the  only  hope  of  safety,  Parkes 
and  Loch,  taking  a  Sikh  with  them,  followed  the  mandarin  to 
Sankolinsin's  tent. 

That  chieftain  greeted  them  with  triumphant  jeers  and 
laughter,  and  his  followers,  taking  their  cue  from  their  chief, 
dragged  the  foreigners  off  their  horses  and  buffeted  them  on  the 
head,  while  others  rubbed  their  faces  in  the  dirt.  Sankolinsin 
shared  the  opinion  of  the  commissioners  and  others  that  Parkes 
was  able,  if  he  chose  to  exercise  his  powers,  to  stop  the  fighting 
at  any  moment,  and  he  called  upon  him  now  to  issue  an  order  for 
the  arrest  of  the  Allied  forces.  Parkes  naturally  refused  so  absurd 
a  request,  and  Sankolinsin,  having  lost  his  temper  at  meeting  with 
this  opposition,  would  probably  have  given  vent  to  violence  had 
not  an  officer  hastily  ridden  up  with  the  announcement  that  his 
presence  was  required  at  the  front.  Meanwhile  the  Chinese  had 
made  prisoners  of  the  rest  of  the  party  with  the  exception  of 
Colonel  Walker,  Thompson,  and  the  men  of  the  King's  Dragoon 
Guards,  who  had  gradually  become  separated  from  their  comrades. 
This  detachment,  finding  that  the  Chinese  soldiers  were  becoming 
aggressive  and  violent  in  their  demeanor,  charged  through  their 
ranks  and  escaped  to  the  British  lines.  Immediately  following  on 
their  flight  the  battle  began,  and  the  sound  of  the  guns  was  a  signal 
for  Parkes  and  Loch  to  be  carried  off  in  search  of  the  Prince  of  L 
In  a  springless  wooden  cart  and  tightly  bound  they  were  driven  to 
Tungchow,  through  the  streets  of  which  city  they  were  carried  in 
triumph,  amid  the  jeers  and  insults  of  the  people  who  the  day 
before  had  offered  them  obsequious  politeness.  But  the  Prince  of 
I  was  not  to  be  found,  and  was  reported  to  have  started  for  Peking. 
The  prisoners  were,  therefore,  hurried  on  the  road  after  him.     It 


180  CHINA 

1860 

was  said,  however,  that  he  had  subsequently  returned  to  Tung- 
chow,  and  in  this  uncertainty  the  guard  deemed  it  best  to  take  the 
prisoners  before  General  Juilin,  who  commanded  another  army 
on  the  Peking  side  of  Tungchow.  Juilin  behaved  to  the  captives 
with  the  utmost  brutality,  and,  after  subjecting  them  to  the 
grossest  insults,  ordered  their  removal  to  a  small  temple  in  the 
neighborhood,  where  they  were  searched  and  everything  valuable 
taken  from  them,  including  papers.  After  a  short  rest  they  were 
made  to  kneel  in  the  courtyard  before  a  posse  of  mandarins,  several 
of  whom  they  recognized  as  having  been  among  the  entourage  of 
the  commissioners  on  the  day  before.  But  bad  news  from  Chang- 
chiawan,  the  field  of  battle,  was  beginning  to  arrive,  and  their 
inquisitors  suddenly  rode  off  to  effect  their  own  escape,  leaving 
their  victims  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  soldiers,  who  showed 
every  disposition  to  behead  them.  Eventually,  however,  the 
prisoners  were  again  thrown  bound  into  a  cart  and  driven  off  to 
Peking.  Anyone  who  has  had  the  misfortune  to  travel  in  a 
Chinese  cart,  even  when  all  the  alleviations  possible  have  been 
brought  into  requisition,  will  readily  understand  the  intense  agony 
which  must  have  been  endured  by  men  bound  as  the  prisoners 
were,  and  driven  quickly  over  the  terrible  road  which  separates 
Tungchow  from  Peking.  The  miseries  through  which  they  had 
gone  since  their  capture  were  terrible,  but  the  acme  of  mental  tor- 
ture was  reached  when  they  were  driven  into  the  courtyard  of  the 
Hsing  Pu,  or  Board  of  Punishments.  "  This  is  indeed  worse  than 
I  expected,"  said  Parkes.  "  We  are  in  the  worst  prison  in  China ; 
we  are  in  the  hands  of  torturers ;  this  is  the  Board  of  Punishments." 
This  gloomy  building  has  its  foundation  in  the  very  earliest 
records  of  the  Chinese  race,  and  native  historians  find  references 
to  the  precursors  of  the  horrible  prison  which  now  disgraces  the 
capital  of  China  in  the  reigns  of  sovereigns  who  ruled  the  empire 
even  before  fable  developed  into  history.  The  officials,  doubtless 
acting  under  orders,  assumed  from  the  first  a  most  uncompromis- 
ing attitude  toward  their  foreign  captives.  They  bound  them  with 
chains,  they  subjected  them  to  every  kind  of  indignity,  and  added 
a  further  cruelty  by  separating  them.  Loch  gives  the  following 
description  of  his  first  entrance  into  his  dungeon:  "My  jailer 
went  up  to  the  door  and  gave  three  heavy  blows,  crying  out  at  the 
same  time.  A  most  unearthly  yell  from  the  inside  was  the  reply, 
the  door  was  thrown  open,  and  I  found  myself  in  the  presence  of. 


ANGLO-FRENCH     WARS  181 

1860 

and  surrounded  by,  as  savage  a  lot  of  half-naked  demons  as  I  had 
ever  beheld;  they  were  nearly  all  the  lowest  caste  of  criminals 
imprisoned  for  murder  and  the  most  serious  offenses.  There  were 
about  fifty  in  all,  of  whom  some  eighteen  or  twenty  were  chained 
like  myself,  but  with  far  lighter  irons.  A  few  of  the  prisoners 
were  better  dressed  than  the  others."  The  capture  and  imprison- 
ment of  the  captives  had  been  a  subject  of  congratulation  and  re- 
joicing to  the  emperor  and  his  advisers,  who  from  their  safe  retreat 
in  the  hunting  palace  at  Jehol  in  Mongolia,  whither  the  "  Son  of 
Heaven "  had  fled  on  the  approach  of  the  Allied  armies,  still 
directed  the  affairs  of  state.  At  this  time  the  war  party  was  in 
power,  and  being  composed  of  men  who  were  quite  ignorant  of 
foreigners,  and  who  were  possessed  with  an  overwhelming  idea  of 
the  power  and  prestige  of  China,  had  with  light  hearts  nailed  their 
flag  to  the  mast  of  no  compromise.  It  was  still  their  belief  that 
Parkes  could  put  an  end  to  the  march  of  the  troops  if  he  pleased, 
and  if  he  did  not  so  please,  they  were  quite  content  to  put  him  to 
death  and  to  allow  the  army  to  fight  the  matter  out.  Under  the 
inspiration  of  these  men  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Punishments 
and  his  satellites  indulged  in  every  insolence  and  cruelty  toward 
the  prisoners,  and  if  they  stopped  short  of  actual  physical  torture, 
it  was  only  with  the  idea  that  it  might  diminish  the  possible  useful- 
ness of  their  victims.  It  is  not  often  that  foreigners  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  inside  of  Chinese  prisons,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  dwell  for  a  moment  on  one  of  the  rooms  in  which  Loch  was 
examined  on  his  knees  and  which  recalls  the  horrors  of  the  In- 
quisition. "  On  one  side  of  this  dungeon,"  Loch  writes,  "  was  a 
table  behind  which  three  mandarins  were  seated.  There  were 
various  iron  implements  lying  on  the  table,  and  the  walls  were 
hung  with  chains  and  other  disagreeable  instruments  the  use  of 
which  it  was  unpleasant  too  closely  to  investigate.  On  one  side 
of  the  room  was  a  low  bench,  at  each  end  of  which  was  a  small 
windlass,  round  which  a  rope  was  coiled ;  the  use  to  which  this  ma- 
chine might  be  applied  admitted  of  no  doubt."  For  ten  days  the 
officials  kept  their  prisoners  closely  confined  in  their  loathsome 
dens,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  circumstances  arose  which  in- 
duced them  to  move  Parkes  and  Loch  to  a  temple  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  the  city,  where  they  were  well  treated  and  allowed  their 
liberty  within  the  four  walls  of  the  building. 

In  order  to  make  the  story  of  this  period  clear,  it  is  necessary 


182  CHINA 

I860 

now  to  revert  to  the  proceedings  on  the  day  of  the  capture  of  the 
prisoners.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  battle  of  Changchiawan 
was  opening  when  the  supreme  act  of  treachery  was  perpetrated. 
Unfortunately  for  Sankolinsin's  scheme,  events  were  precipitated 
before  his  arrangements  could  be  brought  to  perfection,  and  the 
unexpected  advance  of  the  Allies  somewhat  disconcerted  his  plans. 
The  enormous  force  of  Tartar  cavalry  under  his  command,  how- 
ever, did  their  utmost  to  check  the  onslaught  of  the  Barbarians. 
They  charged  repeatedly  and  with  considerable  courage,  while  the 
artillery  served  their  guns  with  steadiness  and  effect.  But  they 
were  quite  unable  to  resist  the  fire  and  cavalry  of  the  invaders,  and 
after  making  a  considerable  stand,  they  tottered,  turned,  and  fled, 
leaving  seventy-four  guns  in  the  hands  of  the  victors  and  countless 
dead  upon  the  field.  So  soon  as  the  fate  of  the  day  was  decided, 
Sankolinsin  took  to  flight,  and  only  stayed  to  rally  his  fugitive  forces 
when  he  joined  hands  with  Juilin  on  the  Peking  side  of  Tungchow. 
A  day  or  two  later  these  combined  forces  suffered  another  crush- 
ing defeat  at  Palichiao,  or  "  Eight-mile  Bridge,"  a  spot  which  is 
emphasized  in  the  French  annals  as  having  supplied  the  title  of 
Count  de  Palichiao  which  was  conferred  on  General  Montauban. 
After  the  flight  of  the  emperor  to  Jehol,  Prince  Kung,  his 
brother,  was  practically  left  in  command  on  the  spot.  He  took  up 
his  residence  at  Yuan-ming-yuan,  the  Summer  Palace,  in  company 
with  the  dowager  empress,  and  there  received  from  time  to  time  the 
dreary  reports  of  his  country's  defeats.  The  news  of  the  disaster 
at  Changchiawan  no  sooner  reached  him  than  he  recognized  the 
wisdom  of  doing  his  utmost  to  prevent,  if  possible,  an  attack  on 
the  capital.  He  hurried,  therefore,  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  dis- 
patched in  advance  a  letter  to  Lord  Elgin  stating  that  he  held 
plenipotentiary  powers  for  the  negotiation  of  peace.  At  the  same 
time  he  had  the  temerity  to  urge  a  request  for  a  temporary  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  Lord  Elgin's  answer  was  short.  He  gave  his 
correspondent  to  understand  that  he  would  not  for  an  instant  en- 
tertain any  proposals  for  peace  until  the  prisoners  were  given  up, 
and  he  warned  the  prince  of  the  serious  consequences  that  would  be 
entailed  on  the  city  of  Peking,  and  even  on  the  fortunes  of  the 
dynasty  itself,  if  in  their  blind  folly  the  Chinese  compelled  the 
allies  to  attack  the  capital.  With  this  rebuff  Kung  returned  to 
Yuan-ming-yuan,  and,  resigning  all  hope  of  peace,  gave  directions 
for  strengthening  and  defending  the  walls  of  Peking.    Meanwhile 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  183 

I860 

the  invaders  marched  unopposed  along  the  east  face  of  the  city, 
the  French  being  on  the  right,  in  company  with  some  of  the  British 
cavalry.  There  had  been  some  talk  of  marching  on  Yuan-ming- 
yuan,  and  the  French,  perhaps  regarding  the  arrangement  as  more 
definite  than  it  really  was,  crossed  the  rear  of  the  British  un- 
observed and  marched  straight  on  the  palace.  This  move  was  so 
sudden  that  Prince  Kung  and  the  dowager  empress  were  yet  in  the 
palace  when  the  French  appeared  before  the  gates.  With  all  haste 
the  imperial  personages  escaped  from  the  back,  leaving  a  party  of 
eunuchs  and  one  or  two  mandarins  to  watch  proceedings.  One  of 
these  officials,  Wang  by  name,  who  took  possession  of  a  pavilion 
at  the  back  of  the  premises  and  there  awaited  events,  related  to  the 
writer  his  experiences.  The  first  visitors  who  intruded  on  his 
privacy  were  two  or  three  Sikhs  who  had  followed  the  French  to 
the  imperial  quarters.  "  These  men,"  said  Wang,  "  looked  round 
the  room  and  took  anything  they  fancied,  but  left  me  unmolested. 
Presently  there  entered  some  French  soldiers,  who  took  the  pipe 
out  of  my  mouth,  broke  off  the  jade  stone  mouthpiece,  and  pocketed 
it.  I  then  thought  it  was  time  to  go,  and  I  followed  Prince  Kung 
to  a  temple  on  the  hills  to  the  north  of  the  palace." 

Yuan-ming-yuan  was  the  favorite  palace  of  the  emperor.  It 
was  there  where  he  sought  relief  from  the  cares  of  state,  and  it 
was  there  that  some  of  the  prisoners  had  been  taken  and  had  been 
cruelly  tortured.  The  grounds  covered  an  enormous  extent,  and 
countless  pavilions  of  all  forms  and  shapes  stood  on  every  spot 
where  the  natural  lie  of  the  land  or  the  skill  of  landscape  gardeners 
yielded  appropriate  sites.  The  gardens  were  bright  with  every  kind 
of  flowering  shrub  and  plant.  Quaint  bridges  crossed  the  streams 
and  lakes  and  led  to  buildings  full  of  rare  and  priceless  objects. 
There  were  collected  the  choicest  specimens  of  porcelain  from 
Kinteching,  bronzes  from  Soochow,  and  jade  ornaments  from  the 
quarries  of  Central  Asia,  while  curiosities  from  Europe — watches 
and  clocks  from  France,  and  objects  of  a  more  prosaic  nature  from 
England,  as,  for  instance,  the  carriage  presented  by  George  III. 
to  the  Emperor  Ch'ienlung — thronged  the  halls.  All  these  stores  of 
wealth  were  now  at  the  mercy  of  the  Allies,  and  for  some  days  the 
palaces  were  looted  without  check  by  the  troops  of  both  armies. 
This  last  catastrophe  disposed  Prince  Kung  to  listen  with  a  more 
willing  ear  to  Lord  Elgin's  demand  for  the  surrender  of  one  of  the 
gates  of  the  city,  and  after  some  show  of  hestitation  he  found  it 


184.  CHINA 

1860 

wise  to  yield  to  circumstances.  It  had  been  made  clear  to  him  that 
there  could  be  no  peace  so  long  as  his  demand  was  refused,  and 
though  to  submit  to  it  was  as  gall  and  wormwood  to  him,  he 
finally  gave  way,  and  handed  over  the  Anting  Gate,  on  the  north 
face  of  the  city,  to  the  allied  commanders. 

Meanwhile  the  council  of  state  sitting  at  Jehol  had  maintained 
a  resolutely  anti-foreign  attitude.  While  the  troops  were  advanc- 
ing from  Tungchow  on  Peking,  the  emperor's  advisers  had  been 
discussing  the  fate  which  was  to  be  meted  out  to  Parkes  and  Loch. 
In  their  headstrong  folly  they  eventually  determined,  against  the 
advice  of  Prince  Kung,  that  they  should  die,  and  a  messenger  was 
dispatched  to  Peking  with  a  warrant  for  their  immediate  execution. 
Happily  the  peace  party  at  Peking,  consisting  of  Prince  Kung, 
Hang-ki,  and  others,  had  their  spies  at  Jehol,  and  the  instant  that 
the  death  warrant  was  signed  a  swift  courier  was  sent  with  all 
haste  to  the  prince  to  inform  him  of  the  fact.  This  fleet-footed 
envoy  arrived  at  Peking  early  in  the  morning  of  October  8,  with 
news  that  the  imperial  messenger  was  following  closely  at  his  heels. 
If  the  prisoners  were  to  be  saved,  therefore,  there  was  no  time  to  be 
lost,  and  Hang-ki  at  once  went  to  the  temple  to  which  they  had 
been  removed  and  announced  to  them  the  glad  tidings  of  their 
immediate  release.  Two  days  previously  this  same  officer  had 
solemnly  stated  to  them  that  their  execution  was  fixed,  first  of  all, 
for  that  same  evening,  and  then  for  the  next  morning.  This  further 
message  of  their  proposed  release  was,  therefore,  received  by  them 
with  some  reserve,  and  Parkes,  assuming  an  indifference  which 
he  was  far  from  feeling,  at  once  renewed  a  conversation  on  the 
motion  of  the  moon,  which  had  been  cut  short  on  the  previous  day. 
Hang-ki's  manner  and  impatience,  however,  soon  convinced  him 
that  his  tidings  were  really  true,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  day  this 
conviction  was  confirmed  by  the  appearance  in  the  courtyard  of 
a  covered  cart,  into  which  the  prisoners,  who  were  now  to  be  free 
men,  were  hastily  placed  and  sent  out  of  the  city.  Being  in  ig- 
norance as  to  the  exact  position  of  the  Allied  forces,  they  were 
uncertain  which  way  to  direct  the  driver,  but  going  toward  Yuan- 
ming-yuan  they  fell  in  with  a  British  guard,  and  at  once  had  the 
satisfaction  of  feeling  that  they  were  at  last  safe  indeed.  At  the 
same  time  eight  sowars  of  Fane's  Horse  and  one  French  officer 
were  restored  to  liberty.  The  remaining  prisoners  had  perished 
in  the  hands  of  their  torturers,  and  their  remains,  which  were 


ANGL-0-FRENCH    WARS 


185 


I860 


handed  over  oy  the  Chinese  to  the  Alhed  commanders,  were  buried 
with  all  honors  in  the  Russian  cemetery  at  Peking.  A  quarter  of  an 
hour  after  the  cart  which  carried  Parkes  and  Loch  had  passed  out 
of  the  city  gate,  the  warrant  arrived  for  their  execution;  and  as 
Hang-ki  afterward  said  to  Parkes,  "  if  your  deliverance  had  been 
only  delayed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  even  Prince  Kung's  influence 
could  not  have  saved  you." 

The  stories  which  the  recovered  prisoners  had  to  tell  of  their 
captivity,  and  the  sight  of  the  cruelly  mangled  bodies  of  those  who 
had  died  in  their  dungeons,  aroused  such  deep  and  violent  indig- 
nation at  the  treachery  and  brutality  of  the  Chinese  that  Lord 
Elgin  felt  that  some  signal  punishment  should  be  inflicted  on  the 
government.  In  this  conviction  he  wrote  to  Prince  Kung  to  inform 
him  that  as  a  protest  against  the  infamous  conduct  of  the  ruling 
powers  he  had  determined  to  destroy  the  Summer  Palace.  In 
meting  out  his  punishment  he  was  guided  by  the  principle  that  the 
penalty  should  be  inflicted  on  the  emperor  and  his  personal  be- 
longings rather  than  on  the  people,  who  were  comparatively 
innocent  of  the  crime.  Due  notice  having  been  given,  a  force  was 
marched  into  the  palace,  and  fire  was  set  to  the  buildings,  which 
were  speedily  laid  level  with  the  ground.  For  several  days  the 
conflagration  raged,  and,  a  northwest  wind  happening  to  blow  at 
the  time,  the  smoke  hung  for  days  like  a  black  pall  over  the  city  of 
Peking. 

Though  the  war  party  at  Jehol  were  still  breathing  out  fire 
and  slaughter  against  the  foreigners,  Prince  Kung  was  quietly 
negotiating  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  By  an  act  of  poetical  justice 
the  Prince  of  I's  house  was  appropriated  as  the  temporary  residence 
of  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros,  and  on  October  24,  when  a  complete 
agreement  had  been  arrived  at,  these  ministers  met  Prince  Kung  at 
the  Hall  of  Ceremonies,  and  there  concluded  the  treaty  which  has 
guided  the  relation  between  China  and  the  Western  nations  to  the 
present  day.  With  some  reluctance  the  emperor  issued  an  edict 
authorizing  the  publication  of  the  treaty  throughout  the  empire, 
and  after  this  final  act  the  ministers,  accompanied  by  the  troops,  left 
Peking. 

A  time  of  great  doubt  and  uncertainty  followed  on  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace.  It  is  in  most  cases  difficult  to  determine  the  true 
motives  of  Chinese  statesmen,  but  in  the  present  instance  there  was 
no  trace  of  ambiguity  in  the  attitude  of  the  anti-foreign  party  at 


186  CHINA 

I860 

Jehol.  To  Prince  Kung,  who  had  seen  the  Allied  armies,  who  had 
recognized  their  strength,  and  who  had  felt  their  power,  the  idea 
of  bringing  about  another  war  appeared  downright  madness.  In 
this  firm  belief  he  used  his  utmost  endeavors  to  induce  the  emperor 
to  move  his  court  to  Peking,  where  he  felt  that  he  might  have  some 
chance  of  influencing  the  counsels  of  his  brother.  This  proposal 
was  vehemently  and  successfully  resisted  by  the  Prince  of  I,  Shu 
Shun,  and  other  evil  counselors  who  surrounded  the  inert  and 
feeble  "  Son  of  Heaven."  Throughout  all  these  negotiations 
Prince  Kung's  hopes  rested,  and  as  it  was  ultimately  proved,  with 
good  reason,  on  the  empress,  who  was  an  able  woman  and  who 
had  considerable  influence  over  her  husband.  Hsienfeng  himself 
was  little  more  than  a  lay  figure,  and  not  unfrequently  the  members 
of  his  council  flagrantly  disobeyed  with  impunity  his  express  com- 
mands. During  the  winter  of  1860-1861  court  intrigues,  and 
more  or  less  open  contests,  were  continually  in  progress,  and  the 
only  hope  of  continued  peace  rested  on  the  wished-for  triumph  of 
Prince  Kung  over  his  truculent  opponents.  Associated  with  Prince 
Kung  were  Grand  Secretary  Wenhsiang  and  Hang-ki,  who  were 
all  honestly  desirous,  in  the  circumstances,  of  maintaining  peace. 
They  probably  had  as  little  affection  for  foreigners  as  either  the 
Prince  of  I  or  Shu  Shun,  and  indeed  in  a  moment  of  confidence 
Hang-ki  said  to  Parkes,  while  he  was  yet  in  his  bonds,  "  Do  not 
mistake;  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  yourselves  individually  that  I 
advocate  your  release;  far  from  it;  for,  if  I  thought  it  would 
benefit  our  position,  I  would  advocate  your  death ;  but  it  is  because 
I  know  your  people.  I  am  better  acquainted  with  their  powers  of 
destruction  than  the  other  commissioners  are.  I  know  they  will 
carry  out  their  threat  and  destroy  Peking  if  harm  falls  on  you  two; 
this  will  bring  misery  on  the  people  and  destruction  upon  us."  This 
outspoken  utterance  is  faithfully  descriptive  of  the  attitude  of 
ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  mandarins  who  are  at  the  present 
date  said  to  be  amicably  disposed  toward  foreigners. 

But  though  peace  with  the  foreigners  was  restored,  Vce  victis 
was  the  cry  in  the  distracted  imperial  council,  and  the  ratification 
of  the  treaties  had  no  sooner  been  exchanged  than  the  following 
edict  appeared  in  the  Peking  Gazette:  *  "  Let  Sankolinsin  be  deprived 
of  his  nobility;  let  Juilin  [who  it  will  be  remembered  commanded 

*  The  Peking  Gazette,  which  endures  to-day,  is  the  oldest  periodical  in  the 
world,  having  been  founded  by  Mingti  in  the  eighth  century  a.  d. 


ANGL-0-FRENCH    WARS 


187 


1860-1861 

in  the  neighborhood  of  Tungchow]  be  immediately  deprived  of  his 
office,  as  a  warning.  Respect  this."  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
fall  of  Sankolinsin,  and  though  he  was  subsequently  employed 
against  the  Nienfei  rebels  he  remained  under  a  cloud  of  official 
displeasure,  and  was  eventually  treacherously  murdered  by  some 
of  his  own  followers.  In  no  country  in  the  world  is  success  re- 
garded so  emphatically  as  a  sign  of  merit  as  in  China,  and  the 
reverse — vis.,  that  failure  is  synonymous  with  incompetence,  holds 
good.  Unsuccessful  generals  in  the  flowery  land  find  their  way,  as 
a  rule,  to  the  execution  ground,  and  it  is  probable  that  Sankolin- 
sin's  relationship  with  the  emperor  alone  saved  his  life  on  this 
occasion. 

During  the  winter  of  1 8601 86 1  the  emperor  remained  at  Jehol 
much  against  the  advice  of  Prince  Kung  and  his  colleagues,  who 
felt  that  his  absence  from  the  capital  at  this  crisis  was  a  virtual 
abdication  of  his  imperial  functions.  But  to  all  admonition  from 
this  quarter  he  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  at  the  inspiration  of  his 
entourage  listened  greedily  to  the  false  accounts  of  the  disorders 
which  were  said  by  his  interested  advisers  to  prevail  in  the  capital. 
As  the  summer  drew  on  his  health  began  to  fail.  It  was  said 
that  he  caught  a  succession  of  bad  chills,  and  it  is  possible  that  this 
may  have  been  the  case,  for  though  quite  a  young  man  his  strength 
was  seriously  undermined  by  the  constant  debaucheries  and  acts 
of  self-indulgence  which  made  up  his  daily  life.  At  this  time  a 
comet  appeared  in  the  skies,  an  occurrence  which  is  universally 
regarded  in  China  as  an  evil  omen.  The  alarm  occasioned  by  this 
sign  in  the  heavens  was  excessive  and  prepared  the  people  for 
the  reports  which  spread  at  the  beginning  of  August  as  to  the 
alarming  state  of  the  emperor's  health.  So  serious  was  the  condi- 
tion of  things  that  Prince  Kung  determined  to  go  to  Jehol,  as  he 
rightly  considered  that  his  only  chance  of  retaining  power  lay  in 
his  being  able  to  combine  with  the  empress  against  the  intrigues 
of  the  Prince  of  I  and  others,  who  still  held  the  emperor's 
confidence. 

The  political  atmosphere  at  Jehol  was  not  a  congenial  one  to  the 
prince,  and  though  he  succeeded  in  forming  a  most  useful  alliance 
with  the  empress,  which  was  destined  to  lead  to  great  consequences, 
he  made  no  impression  whatever  on  the  emperor,  who  was  evidently 
very  near  death.  Prince  Kung  had  only  just  returned  to  Peking 
when  the  well-known  literary  precursor  of  the  end  appeared  in 


188  CHINA 

1861 

the  shape  of  the  usual  edict  appointing  a  successor  to  the  throne. 
This  document  was  as  follows :  "  Let  Tsai  Ch'un,  the  eldest  son 
of  the  emperor,  be  crown  prince.  Our  eldest  son  Tsai  Ch'un  being 
now  constituted  crown  prince,  let  Ts'ai  Yuan,  Prince  of  I;  Twan 
Hwa,  Prince  of  Ching;  Ching  Shou;  Shu  Shun;  Mu  Yin;  Kwan 
Yiian;  Tu  Han;  Tsiang  Yuying,  with  all  their  might  aid  him  as 
counselors  in  all  things  pertaining  to  the  administration  of  the 
government."  On  August  22  the  emperor  died,  and  the  crown 
prince  was  proclaimed  emperor  under  the  style  of  Chihsiang,  As 
the  new  emperor  was  but  four  years  old  the  conduct  of  affairs 
passed  even  more  definitely  than  had  been  the  case  before,  into  the 
hands  of  the  anti-foreign  council  appointed  as  above. 

For  a  time  things  went  smoothly;  the  foreign  relations  were 
conducted  by  Prince  Kung,  Prince  Ch'un,  the  father  of  the  present 
emperor.  Grand  Secretary  Wenhsiang,  and  the  veteran  Kweiliang, 
while  the  general  administration  of  the  empire  was  conducted  from 
Jehol.  This  was  plainly  a  state  of  things  which  could  not  continue 
to  exist,  and  toward  the  end  of  October  it  was  announced  that  the 
youthful  "  Son  of  Heaven  "  would  return  at  once  to  Peking  fol- 
lowed by  the  funeral  cortege  of  his  father.  This  decision  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis,  and  forced  on  a  trial  of  strength  between  the  two 
parties  in  the  state.  The  ladies  of  the  harem  were  the  first  to  arrive 
at  Peking.  These  were  shortly  followed  by  the  boy  emperor,  who 
entered  his  capital  seated  on  his  mother's  knee,  and  attended  by 
the  council  of  state,  with  the  exception  of  Shu  Shun,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  escort  the  remains  of  the  late  emperor.  Prince  Kung's 
visit  to  Jehol  was  now  to  bear  fruit,  and  the  Peking  world  was 
thrown  into  a  state  of  wild  excitement  by  the  appearance  of  an  edict 
purporting  by  a  pious  fiction  to  proceed  from  the  hand  of  the 
emperor  dismissing  the  Jehol  courtiers  from  their  offices,  and  order- 
ing that  the  Princes  of  I  and  Ching  with  Shu  Shun,  should  be  put 
on  their  trial  for  having  deceived  their  imperial  master,  and  for 
having  grossly  mismanaged  the  affairs  of  state.  At  the  same  time 
a  second  decree  appeared  appointing  the  two  dowager  empresses, 
the  wife  of  Hsienfeng  and  the  mother  of  the  emperor,  regents  of 
the  empire.  Two  precedents  for  the  administration's  being  en- 
trusted to  an  empress  were  easily  established  by  the  Hanlin  doctors, 
both  during  the  Ming  Dynasty,  when  the  Emperors  Chitsong 
and  Wanleh  were  in  their  minority. 

With  th^se  twQ  st^te  papers  in  hi§  hand,  Prince  Kun^  pre- 


ANGLO-FRENCH    WARS  189 

1861 

sented  himself  forthwith  before  the  assembled  council,  and  having 
read  in  their  astonished  ears  the  sentence  of  their  degradation,  he 
demanded  to  know  whether  they  were  prepared  to  submit  to  the 
imperial  commands.  Kung  had  not  been  unmindful  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  opposition,  and  he  had  strengthened  his  position  by 
massing  large  bodies  of  troops  under  General  Sheng  Pao,  on  whom 
he  could  implicitly  rely,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital.  His 
enemies,  recognizing  their  impotence,  at  once  declared  their  sub- 
mission to  the  decrees,  and  left  the  council  chamber  in  a  body,  but 
not  before  the  Prince  of  I  and  Prince  Ching  had  both  been  taken 
into  custody. 

But  the  ablest  and  in  every  way  most  formidable  of  the  in- 
triguers was  Shu  Shun,  and  he  still  remained  at  large,  a  menace 
to  Kung's  complete  triumph.  Prince  Ch'un  was  therefore  sent 
with  a  body  of  Tartar  cavalry  to  arrest  the  offender  on  his  way 
from  Jehol,  in  command  of  the  funeral  procession,  and  before  he 
should  be  warned  by  news  of  his  colleagues'  fate.  It  so  chanced 
that  the  prince  came  upon  his  prey  late  at  night  at  one  of  the  im- 
perial traveling  palaces  on  the  road.  Without  the  slightest  com- 
punction he  broke  in  upon  the  peaceful  slumbers  of  Shu  Shun. 
The  fact  that  Shu  Shun  had  brought  the  ladies  of  his  harem  in 
his  company,  while  on  the  sacred  and  solemn  duty  of  escorting  the 
remains  of  his  late  imperial  master  to  their  last  resting-place,  was 
held  to  aggravate  his  offenses.  With  stolid  indifference  Shu  Shun 
yielded  to  superior  force,  and  submitted  to  enter  Peking  as  a 
prisoner. 

No  time  was  lost  in  putting  the  prisoners  on  trial.  In  East- 
ern countries  only  one  sentence  is  possible  in  such  a  case,  and 
all  three  offenders  were  condemned  to  death.  Shu  Shun  was  de- 
clared worthy  of  Lingeh'ih,  or  the  lingering  process,  while  the  two 
princes  were  sentenced  to  be  beheaded.  The  severity  of  these  ver- 
dicts was  mercifully  mitigated  by  the  dowager  empresses,  who  sent 
Shu  Shun  to  decapitation  on  the  execution  ground,  and  as  an  act 
of  grace  allowed  the  two  princes  to  perform  the  happy  dispatch 
by  strangling  themselves  in  prison. 

But  the  work  of  neutralization  was  not  yet  thought  complete. 
Chinese  polity  dictated  that  every  trace  of  the  connection  of  the 
late  board  of  regents  with  the  emperor's  reign  should  be  obliter- 
ated. The  name  of  Chisiang  had  been  chosen  by  the  council,  and 
this,  if  retained,  would  serve  to  perpetuate  in  the  annals  of  the 


190 


CHINA 


1861 

nation  the  record  of  the  fallen  ministers'  brief  period  of  power. 
From  the  Chinese  standpoint  the  question  was  one  of  extreme  im- 
portance and  after  considerable  deliberation  the  name  of  T'ungchih 
was  declared  to  be  a  satisfactory  substitute.  The  new  name  of  the 
emperor  signified  the  "  union  of  law  and  order  "  and  undoubtedly 
had  reference  to  the  circumstances  which  made  necessary  a  re- 
selection  of  title.  How  far  it  was  destined  to  apply  to  the  short 
reign  of  the  young  "  Son  of  Heaven  "  remains  to  be  seen. 


PART  III 


THE  MODERN  PHASE  OF  THE  CHINESE 
EMPIRE.    1860-1906 


Chapter   X 

THE   T'AIP'ING  REBELLION.    1859-1862 

BEFORE  the  outbreak  of  the  foreign  war  the  T'aip'ing  Re- 
belHon,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  gradually  dying  out  from 
want  of  vigor  and  initiative,  and  the  two  cities  of  Nanking 
and  Anking  were  the  only  two  places  of  importance  remaining  in 
the  occupation  of  the  rebels.  But  when  it  became  necessary  for  the 
government  to  defend  the  capital  against  the  Allies,  every  available 
soldier  was  sent  northward,  and  the  local  authorities  were  left  to 
cope  as  best  they  might  with  the  followers  of  the  "  Heavenly 
King."  But  though  the  rebels  were  thus  relieved  of  a  great  strain, 
they  would  probably  have  been  unable  to  avert  an  immediate  col- 
lapse had  it  not  been  for  the  Chung  Wang,  or  Faithful  Prince,  who 
throughout  his  whole  career  showed  a  staunch  loyalty  to  the  cause, 
and  a  marked  capacity  for  military  tactics.  The  T'ienwang  was 
lost  in  a  slough  of  debauchery  within  his  palace  at  Nanking,  and 
with  the  exception  of  Chung  Wang  none  of  the  rebel  leaders  showed 
any  considerable  power  of  organization  or  any  love  of  fighting. 
At  this  time,  1859,  Nanking  was  closely  invested  by  the  troops 
under  Tseng  Kwofan,  and  it  is  beyond  question  that  the  city  would 
before  long  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  imperialists  if  Chung 
Wang  had  not  come  forward  to  its  relief.  He  instinctively  saw 
that,  beleaguered  as  they  were,  it  had  become  merely  a  question 
of  time  how  long  the  provisions  in  the  city  would  hold  out,  and  he 
recognized  that  the  only  remedy  left  to  the  garrison  was  to  raise 
the  siege  by  an  attack  from  outside.  With  the  sanction  of  the 
"  Heavenly  King  "  he  undertook  this  duty,  and  having  made  his 
way  through  the  imperial  lines,  succeeded  in  collecting  a  rebel  force 
at  Wuhu.  With  these  recruits  he  crossed  the  Yangtsze  to  the 
north  bank,  and  laid  siege  to,  and  captured,  the  important  city 
of  Hochow  in  Anhui.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of 
successes.  City  after  city  fell  into  his  hands,  until  the  whole  country 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river  opposite  Nanking  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  rebels,    Chung  Wang's  main  effort,  however,  was 

193 


194  CHINA 

1859-1860 

directed  to  cutting  off  the  base  of  supplies  from  which  the  imperial 
army  before  Nanking  drew  its  resources,  and  to  harrying  its  sup- 
ports. With  these  objects  in  view  he  crossed  the  river,  and  after 
a  rapid  march,  during  which  he  captured  several  positions,  he 
suddenly  appeared  before  the  celebrated  city  of  Hangchow.  With 
comparative  ease  he  made  himself  master  of  this  important  town, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  following  up  his  successes  by  delivering  an 
attack  on  Soochow  when  he  received  a  positive  command  from 
the  "  Heavenly  King  "  to  march  at  once  to  the  relief  of  the  closely 
beleaguered  garrison  of  Nanking.  Without  a  moment's  delay  he 
started  on  his  mission,  and  on  arrival  at  the  scene  of  action  at 
once  gave  battle  to  the  besieging  force.  Possessed  with  unbounded 
energy  himself  he  succeeded  on  this,  as  on  many  other  occasions, 
in  imparting  the  same  invaluable  quality  to  his  troops.  With 
irresistible  vigor  they  charged  on  the  imperial  lines.  The  battle 
was  hotly  contested,  and  ended  in  a  complete  victory  to  the  rebels, 
who  dissipated  the  imperial  army  and  slew  five  thousand  of  its 
best  troops. 

Having  achieved  this  signal  success  the  Faithful  Prince  re- 
turned with  the  intention  of  completing  his  sinister  designs  against 
Soochow.  But  his  way  was  not  straight  before  him,  for  at  some 
distance  to  the  north  of  the  doomed  city  was  stationed  an  opposing 
army  led  by  Tseng's  chief  and  ablest  lieutenant,  Chang  Kwoliang. 
Here  again  the  imperialists  were  completely  defeated  with  a  loss  of 
ten  thousand  men,  but  an  even  greater  misfortune  to  their  cause 
was  the  death  of  their  able  commander,  who  by  some  strange  mis- 
adventure was  drowned  in  the  Grand  Canal  during  the  progress  of 
the  fighting.  After  another  stubborn  engagement  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  imperial  forces,  led  by  Chang's  brother,  Chung 
Wang  entered  the  city  of  Wusieh  in  triumph.  It  now  seemed  as 
though  a  vital,  and,  from  their  point  of  view,  a  most  encouraging 
turn  had  been  given  to  the  affairs  of  the  rebels.  So  fully  was  this 
realized  that  the  imperialist  General  Ho,  who  had  commanded  at 
Wusieh,  despairing  of  his  master's  cause,  committed  suicide. 

The  imperialists  were  now  in  desperate  straits,  while  in  the 
north  the  dynasty  was  suffering  a  rude  shock  (May,  i860)  at  the 
immediate  prospect  of  an  invasion  by  the  Allied  armies.  We  have 
seen  how  Yeh,  at  Canton,  while  flouting  the  English  one  day, 
was  ready  to  beseech  their  help  against  the  local  rebels  on  the  next, 
and  guided  by  the  same  instinct  for  self-preservation.   Ho,  the 


T'AIP'ING    REBELLION  195 

I860 

viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces,  even  went  the  length  of 
begging  for  the  help  of  some  of  the  foreign  troops,  who  were 
collecting  at  Shanghai  preparatory  to  the  campaign  in  the  north, 
for  the  suppression  of  the  advancing  T'aip'ings.  This  request 
was  of  course  refused,  but  at  the  same  time  the  viceroy  was  in- 
formed that  the  Allies  would  protect  the  city  and  settlement  of 
Shanghai  from  any  assaults  that  the  rebels  might  make  upon  them. 
Meanwhile  the  Faithful  Prince  pursued  his  victorious  career.  In 
rapid  succession  the  cities  of  Soochow,  Quinsan,  Tsingpu,  and 
Taitsan  yielded  to  his  arms,  and  thus  it  may  be  said  that  the  whole 
of  the  rich  peninsula  formed  by  the  River  Yangtze  and  the  Bay 
of  Hangchow  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  The  news 
of  these  fresh  disasters  had  no  sooner  reached  Peking  than  the 
viceroy  Ho  received  orders  to  present  himself  at  Peking  for  judg- 
ment. It  is  difficult  to  know  what  more  he  could  have  done  with 
the  materials  at  his  disposal.  But  his  crime  was  failure  to  preserve 
the  provinces  intrusted  to  him,  and  after  a  short  shrift  he  was 
executed. 

The  approach  of  the  rebel  legions  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Shanghai  gave  rise  to  considerable  consternation  in  the  minds 
of  native  merchants,  who,  cut  off,  as  they  now  were,  from  the 
districts  which  supplied  them  with  silks,  satins,  and  teas,  felt  that 
their  occupations  might  be  considered  to  be  gone  unless  they  could 
by  some  means  help  the  government  in  its  present  and  pressing 
difficulties.  Like  the  late  viceroy  they  turned  to  Europeans  for 
help,  and  established  a  patriotic  association  which  they  supported 
with  large  sums  for  the  protection  of  their  country's  weal.  At  Li 
Hung  Chang's  instigation  they  engaged  the  services  of  two 
adventurous  Americans  named  Ward  and  Burgevine,  who  were 
instructed  to  collect  as  many  stray  Europeans  as  might  be 
found  on  the  spot  available  and  willing  to  take  up  arms  in  the 
emperor's  cause.  It  was  arranged  by  the  wealtliy  Chinese  mer- 
chants of  the  association  that  this  auxiliary  force  should  under 
any  circumstances  receive  a  certain  fixed  rate  of  pay,  and 
that  their  stipends  sliould  be  liberally  supplemented  by  rewards 
in  return  for  every  city  or  stronghold  they  might  take.  To  the 
southwest  of  Shanghai,  at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles,  stood 
the  rebel  stronghold  of  Sungkiang  Fu.  The  proximity  of  this 
place  and  its  strategic  importance  induced  the  association  to  desire 
that  it  should  be  the  first  point  of  attack.     To  this  Ward  agreed. 


196  CHINA 

I860 

and  at  the  head  of  about  three  hundred  Europeans  and  natives  of 
Manila,  he  led  the  assault,  Burgevine  acting  as  quartermaster  to 
the  expedition.  The  first  onslaught  was  repulsed  with  considerable 
loss,  and  Ward  returned  discomfited  to  Shanghai  to  supply  the 
deficiencies  in  his  ranks.  Having  thus  succeeded  in  gaining  fresh 
recruits,  he  renewed  the  attack,  and  this  time  with  success.  The 
amount  of  plunder  secured  in  this  venture  was  very  considerable, 
and  the  liberal  douceurs  which  were  distributed  among  the  troops 
gained  increased  popularity  for  the  force.  In  a  seaport  like  Shang- 
hai there  is  always  a  floating  population  of  ne'er-do-weels,  who  are 
ready  for  "  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils,"  and  Ward  found  little 
difficulty  in  filling  the  gaps  made  in  his  ranks  by  wounds  and 
death.  The  next  object  of  attack  was  Tsingpu,  a  strong  city  whose 
fortifications  had  been  designed  and  strengthened  under  the  di- 
rection and  guidance  of  an  Englishman  named  Savage,  who  like 
many  others  had  joined  the  rebel  ranks. 

As  was  the  case  before  Sungkiang,  Ward's  first  assault  upon 
Tsingpu  was  unsuccessful,  and  he  was  at  the  same  time  still  further 
discomfited  by  an  attack  on  his  rear  delivered  by  the  ever-alert 
Chung  Wang,  who  not  only  utterly  routed  his  force,  but  captured 
his  artillery  and  stores.  At  the  close  of  the  Peking  campaign  the 
British  authorities  had  leisure  and  c^portunity  to  consider  the 
position  of  affairs  in  the  rebel  districts,  more  especially  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Shanghai.  That  place  had  of  late  years  become 
such  an  important  emporium  of  trade  that  it  was  considered  ad- 
visable to  open  negotiations  with  a  view  of  placing  it  beyond  the 
possibility  of  warlike  disturbance.  Admiral  Hope  therefore  steamed 
up  the  river  to  Nanking,  and  in  an  interview  with  the  "  Heavenly 
King  "  pointed  out  the  advisability,  in  his  interest  as  well  as  in  that 
of  the  British,  of  placing  the  port  beyond  the  sphere  of  hostile 
action.  The  "  Heavenly  King  "  graciously  accepted  this  view  and 
gave  his  word  that  no  attack  should  be  made  on  Shanghai  for  at 
least  one  twelvemonth.  The  exaction  of  this  promise  was  the 
more  necessary  and  important  as  already  the  Faithful  Prince  had 
made  one  attack  upon  the  city.  He  afterward  stated  that  he 
had  been  invited  to  this  venture  by  the  French,  but,  however  that 
may  have  been,  he  found  on  approaching  the  walls  that  they  were 
defended  by  a  garrison  of  English  and  French,  before  whose  wither- 
ing fire  his  men  fled  away  dismayed.  After  some  desultory  fighting 
in  the  neighborhood  of  his  defeat  the  Faithful  Prince  returned  to 


T'AIP'ING    REBELLION  197 

1861-1862 

Soochow,  whence  he  was  hastily  summoned  to  Nanking  to  relieve 
that  city,  which  was  being  attacked  for  the  sixth  time  by  the  im- 
perialists. It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  various  maneuvers,  as- 
saults, and  sacks  undertaken  by  that  most  energetic  of  commanders, 
the  Faithful  Prince.  These  actions  lose  much  of  their  interest 
when  we  find  that  the  T'aip'ing  force  was  merely  destructive.  The 
general  proceedings  on  capturing  a  city  were  to  slaughter  the 
inhabitants  and  to  loot  their  homes,  but  in  no  sense  to  set  up 
anything  approaching  to  a  stable  administration.  On  the  other 
hand  the  leisurely  movements  of  the  imperialists  incline  one  to  lose 
sympathy  with  men  who,  while  engaged  in  a  life-and-death  struggle 
with  the  promoters  of  disorder,  were  so  strangely  wanting  in  energy 
and  resource.  But  notwithstanding  this  apparent  apathy  it  was 
becoming  plain  to  careful  observers  that  the  imperialists  were 
gradually  closing  round  the  rebels.  The  capture  of  Nanking  by 
Tseng  Kwofan  was  a  serious  blow  to  their  cause,  and  after  that 
catastrophe  the  action  shortly  to  be  taken  at  Shanghai  placed  the 
rebels  between  a  double  fire. 

So  long,  however,  as  the  Faithful  Prince  was  in  command  of 
the  rebel  armies  successes  were  always  possible,  and  his  rapid 
captures  of  Ningpo  and  Hangchow  for  a  time  revived  the  falling 
hopes  of  the  T'aip'ings.  The  year  during  which  the  "  Heavenly 
King  "  had  promised  that  no  attack  should  be  made  on  Shanghai 
had  now  expired,  and  Chung  Wang,  flushed  by  his  temporary 
successes  in  the  south,  determined  once  more  to  lay  siege  to  that 
city.  In  January,  1862,  his  troops  arrived  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  town  and  settlement.  Not  wishing  to  repeat  their  former 
experience  by  making  an  actual  attack  on  the  walls,  the  rebels  en- 
trenched themselves  in  the  neighborhood  and  devoted  their  leisure 
time  to  plundering  the  country  side.  In  addition  to  the  promise 
mentioned  above,  the  "  Heavenly  King  "  had  undertaken  that  his 
troops  should  not,  under  any  circumstances,  approach  within  a 
radius  of  thirty  miles  of  the  city.  Tliis  undertaking  was  now 
plainly  broken,  and  the  allied  commanders,  fresh  from  the  victories 
achieved  over  the  imperialists  at  Peking,  now  undertook  a  campaign 
against  the  enemies  of  their  former  foes.  Without  much  difficulty 
the  foreign  troops,  although  numerically  infinitely  inferior,  drove 
back  the  invaders  beyond  the  agreed-upon  line,  and  recovered  for 
the  emperor  the  town  and  cities  within  that  district.  Meanwhile 
Ward's  force,  which  had  adopted  the  grandiloquent  title  of  the 


198  CHINA 

1862 

"  Ever-victorious  Army,"  was  rapidly  becoming  an  important  factor 
in  the  situation.  It  numbered  five  thousand  men  and,  by  a  constant 
and  careful  system  of  drill  was  assuming  somewhat  the  position  of 
a  regular  force.  It  ably  supported  General  Staveley,  who  in  March 
had  arrived  from  Tientsin  with  part  of  two  English  regiments, 
and  gained  numerous  victories  single-handed  over  the  rebels.  But 
the  necessity  which  compelled  Ward,  as  it  subsequently  did  Gor- 
don, to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  men  if  he  wished  them 
to  fight,  at  last  proved  fatal  to  him,  and  in  an  attack  on  the  city 
of  Tzuki  he  received  a  wound  which  ended  his  life.  He  was  a 
brave  man,  and  though  quite  uneducated,  had  learned  enough 
of  military  tactics  to  enable  him  to  hold  his  own  against  the  rebel 
leaders.  It  is  illustrative  of  the  amount  of  plunder  obtainable 
under  the  imperial  banner  that  although  the  deceased  commander 
had  only  held  the  post  for  two  years  he  left  behind  him  a  fortune 
of  $75,000. 

The  man  who  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  was  his  subordinate 
Burgevine,  who  was  possessed  of  a  more  high-flying  ambition  than 
his  predecessor,  and  who  was  loftily  determined  that  if  he  com- 
manded at  all  he  would  have  his  own  way  in  everything.  Li 
Hung  Chang,  who  had  meanwhile  become  governor  of  the  province, 
was  not  a  man  to  brook  any  such  pretensions,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  a  violent  disagreement  occurred  between  these  two  chiefs. 
The  patriotic  association,  who  were  quite  as  distrustful  of  Burge- 
vine as  was  the  governor,  entirely  took  his  view  of  the  position,  and 
as  they  held  the  purse  strings  they  were  a  power  which  it  was 
all  important  to  consider.  They,  together  with  Li,  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  providing  about  $150,000  a  month  for  the  support 
of  the  force,  and  they  chose  to  make  their  authority  felt  by  re- 
ducing this  sum  as  soon  as  Burgevine  came  into  power.  The 
general  was  not  likely  to  submit  to  such  action,  and  he,  thereupon, 
went  to  Shanghai  with  his  bodyguard,  and  after  a  personal  alter- 
cation with  the  banker  who  represented  the  association,  in  which 
even  blows  were  struck,  he  impounded  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
which  he  found  on  the  premises,  and  carried  it  off  to  the  camp. 
This  made  a  breach  which  it  was  plainly  impossible  to  bridge  over, 
and  Li  dismissed  Burgevine  from  his  command.  But  it  is  ill 
swapping  horses  when  in  the  midst  of  a  stream,  and  the  dismissal 
of  Burgevine  was  followed  by  almost  a  mutiny  among  the  troops 
and  by  the  appointment  of  a  Captain  Holland,  under  whose  com- 


T'AIP'ING    REBELLION  199 

1862 

mand  only  one  expedition  and  that  an  eminently  unsuccessful  one 
against  T'aits'ang,  was  undertaken. 

But  a  new  turn  was  to  be  given  to  events  by  the  appointment 
of  Major  Gordon  to  the  command  of  the  ever-victorious  army 
vice  Captain  Holland,  Gordon  was  a  man  who  was  known  by 
his  fellows  as  an  officer  of  marked  ability,  great  strength  of  char- 
acter, and  of  unflinching  courage.  At  the  time  of  which  we  speak, 
he  was  engaged  in  making  a  survey  of  the  country  round  Shanghai, 
a  useful  work  which  in  other  circumstances  he  would  have  been 
allowed  to  complete.  But  his  help  was  immediately  called  for,  and 
he  no  sooner  received  the  appointment  of  commander  to  the  force 
than  he  exchanged  the  theodolite  for  the  sword,  and  marched 
out  of  Sungkiang  to  meet  the  enemy.  His  first  objective  was  a 
place  called  Fushan,  which  fell  an  easy  prey  into  his  hands.  The 
fall  of  this  place  entailed  the  evacuation  by  the  rebels  of  Changshu, 
a  neighboring  stronghold,  and  thus  Gordon's  first  engagement  se- 
cured a  double  victory.  Li  Hung  Chang  was  delighted  with  the 
success  thus  easily  won,  and  he  reported  Gordon's  generalship  to 
the  throne  in  glowing  terms.  In  response  he  received  a  rescript 
which  contained  the  following  reference  to  the  achievement: 
"  Gordon,  on  succeeding  to  the  command  of  the  ever-victorious 
force,  having  displayed  both  valor  and  intelligence,  and  having 
now,  with  repeated  energy,  captured  Fushan,  we  ordain  that  he 
at  once  receive  rank  and  office  as  a  Chinese  Tsungping  [general], 
and  that  we  at  the  same  time  command  Li  to  communicate  to  him 
the  expressions  of  our  approval.  Let  Gordon  be  further  enjoined 
to  use  stringent  efforts  to  maintain  discipline  in  the  ever-victorious 
force,  which  has  fallen  into  a  state  of  disorganization,  and  thus  to 
guard  against  the  recurrence  of  former  evils.     Respect  this." 

Next  to  Nanking  the  most  important  place  in  the  possession 
of  the  rebels  was  Soochow,  and  it  was  now  Li's  main  object  to 
recover  this  city.  As  a  preliminary  step,  however,  it  was  necessary 
to  capture  the  city  of  Kunshan  (Quinsan)  before  advancing  to  the 
walls  of  the  great  stronghold,  and  at  Li's  instigation  Gordon 
marched  to  undertake  this  initial  venture.  The  successes  which 
he  had  already  gained,  and  the  confidence  which  he  had  inspired, 
gave  courage  to  his  men ;  and  they  marched  willingly  to  the  attack, 
being  not  altogether  unmindful,  also,  of  the  spoils  which  a  suc- 
cessful assault  would  give  them  an  opportunity  of  reaping.  While 
yet  on  the  way  thither,  however,  Gordon  received  a  pressing  mes- 


«00  CHINA 

1862 

sage  from  Li  beseeching  him  to  march  on  the  city  of  T'aits'ang  to 
avenge  the  defeat  which  his  troops  had  suffered  at  that  place.  Li 
had  been  under  the  impression  that  the  rebels  were  prepared  to 
negotiate  for  the  surrender  of  the  town,  and  he  was  justified  in 
his  belief  by  the  results  of  several  interviews  which  his  lieutenants 
had  had  with  the  rebel  commanders.  But  in  Chinese  warfare  it  is 
never  safe  to  trust  in  your  adversary's  professions,  and  when  the 
rebels  opened  the  gates  and  admitted  fifteen  hundred  imperialists 
within  the  walls,  it  was  only  that  they  might  the  more  easily  cut 
them  down  to  the  last  man. 

The  city  was  so  strongly  fortified  that  Gordon's  first  attack 
proved  unsuccessful.  A  second  assault,  directed  by  more  matured 
counsels,  however,  ended  in  a  complete  victory,  and  though  Gordon 
had  good  reason  for  congratulating  himself  on  the  capture,  his 
rejoicings  were  unhappily  marred  by  one  of  those  inhuman  acts 
of  cruelty  which  are  inseparable  from  Oriental  warfare.  "  Among 
the  prisoners  taken  at  T'aits'ang  were  seven  notorious  rebel  chiefs, 
who  were  handed  over  by  Gordon  to  the  custody  of  the  Chinese 
general. 

It  is  not  clear  whether  or  not  this  officer  communicated 
with  Li  on  the  fate  of  these  captives,  but  it  is  clear  that  the  in- 
human punishment  inflicted  on  them  met  with  his  approval, 
Oriental  ideas  on  the  subject  of  punishment  differ  so  widely  from 
our  own  that  it  is  impossible  to  judge  them  by  the  same  rules. 
Following  a  practice  not  at  all  uncommon,  the  Chinese  general 
ordered  the  men  to  be  fastened  to  crosses,  to  have  arrows  thrust 
through  their  flesh,  to  have  strips  of  skin  cut  off  from  various 
parts  of  their  bodies,  and  in  this  state  to  be  exposed  till  sundown, 
and  then  beheaded." 

Having  avenged  the  defeat  of  Li's  troops,  Gordon  was  free 
to  order  an  advance  upon  Kunshan.  But  he  had  forgotten  that 
his  men  were  mostly  freebooters  and  only  partly  soldiers,  and  that 
after  the  capture  of  a  city  it  was  customary  for  them  to  carry 
their  spoils  to  headquarters,  i.e.,  Sungkiang.  The  order,  therefore, 
for  an  immediate  advance  aroused  anger  among  the  troops,  and 
produced  open  mutiny  among  some  of  the  regiments.  To  give 
in  to  these  predatory  habits  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  corps,  and  Gordon,  therefore,  marched  with  those  who  fell 
into  the  ranks  and  warned  the  remainder  that  any  man  who  was 
not  in  his  place  by  the  time  the  force  had  performed  half  its  march, 


T'AIP'ING    REBELLION  201 

1862 

would  be  struck  off  the  rolls.  The  result  of  this  threat  was  most 
salutary.  The  mutineers  submitted  at  once,  and  marched  with 
their  comrades  to  the  attack.  A  General  Ch'eng,  in  corrvmand  of 
a  Chinese  force,  had  been  appointed  to  act  in  concert  with  the 
ever-victorious  army  in  the  siege  of  Kunshan.  This  redoubtable 
officer  knew  as  much  about  military  tactics  as  most  Chinese  generals, 
and,  after  much  reconnoitering  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  assault  should  be  made  on  the  side  of  the  eastern  gate.  Gordon's 
knowledge  of  Chinese  commanders  prepared  him  for  the  discovery 
that  his  colleague  had  selected  the  strongest  part  of  the  defenses 
for  the  attack,  and  after  a  careful  survey  he  was  led  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  weakest  point  was  on  the  western  side  of  the  city.  In 
front  of  this  part  of  the  walls  were  a  number  of  stockades  which 
were  taken,  not  without  some  fighting,  but  with  the  result  that  the 
garrison  of  Kunshan,  losing  heart  at  the  defeat  of  their  comrades, 
evacuated  the  city  and  retreated  along  the  raised  causeway  which 
connects  Kunshan  with  Soochow.  The  exposed  position  of  this 
roadway  left  the  fugitives  an  easy  prey  to  the  guns  of  Gordon's 
artillery,  and  of  the  steamer  Hyson,  which  enfiladed  the  causeway 
from  the  waters  of  the  neighboring  canal.  It  is  said  that  during 
the  day  between  three  and  four  thousand  of  the  rebels  were  killed, 
while  Grordon's  death  roll  amounted  only  to  two  who  were  killed 
in  action  and  five  who  were  drowned.  Thus  the  key  to  Soochow 
was  captured. 

For  several  reasons,  partly  strategic  and  partly  disciplinary, 
Gordon  determined  to  make  Kunshan  the  headquarters  of  the  force. 
This  move  was  bitterly  resented  by  the  rank  and  file,  who,  under  the 
lax  system  of  Ward  and  Burgevine,  had  been  allowed  a  latitude 
which  had  destroyed  in  them  the  habit  of  implicit  obedience.  So 
strong  was  this  want  of  discipline  that  they  broke  out  into  open 
mutiny  at  this  supposed  wrong.  Gordon  at  once  grappled  with  the 
difficulty.  He  readily  divined  that  the  non-commissioned  officers 
were  the  centers  of  the  dissatisfaction,  and  he  took  his  measures 
accordingly.  He  announced  to  these  sedition-mongers  that  unless 
within  one  hour  the  men  fell  in,  every  fifth  man  among  them  would 
be  shot,  and  by  way  of  pointing  the  moral  of  his  threat,  he  ordered 
out  the  ringleader  of  the  whole  movement  to  instant  execution. 
The  sight  of  his  exemplary  punishment  brought  reason  to  the 
counsels  of  his  former  comrades,  and  within  the  appointed  time  the 
men  gave  in  their  loyal  adhesion  to  their  leader. 


202  CHINA 

1862 

This  was  only  one  of  the  difficulties  which  Gordon  had  to 
encounter  at  this  time.  His  colleague,  General  Ch'eng,  had  never 
forgiven  the  neglect  of  his  advice  which  led  to  the  capture  of 
Kunshan,  and,  on  the  excuse  of  a  mistake,  but  really  by  malice 
prepense,  he  directed  on  one  occasion  the  fire  of  his  guns  against 
a  regiment  of  the  ever-victorious  army.  Money  difficulties  with  Li 
further  added  to  his  anxieties.  The  system  of  looting  which  had 
been  encouraged  by  Ward  and  Burgevine  was  repugnant  to  Gor- 
don's ideas  of  soldiering,  and  he  proposed  to  Li  that  after  the 
capture  of  each  town  a  gratuity  should  be  distributed  among  the 
men  in  place  of  the  spoils  which  used  to  be  their  portion.  Li 
objected  to  this  plan  as  being  less  economical  than  allowing  the 
troops  to  gather  their  own  rewards,  and,  though  agreeing  with 
the  proposal  so  far  as  Kunshan  was  concerned,  gave  notice  to 
Gordon  that  such  irregular  payments  were  "  very  inconvenient." 
These  and  other  money  difficulties  so  strained  the  relations  be- 
tween Gordon  and  Li  that  Gordon  determined  to  resign  his  posi- 
tion, and  he  announced  his  intention  in  the  following  letter  to  the 
governor : 

"  Your  Excellency  :  In  consequence  of  the  monthly  dif- 
ficulties I  experience  in  getting  the  payment  of  the  force  made,  and 
the  non-payment  of  legitimate  bills  for  boat  hire  and  munitions  of 
war  from  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Government,  who  have  done  so 
much  for  the  Imperial  Chinese  authorities,  I  have  determined  on 
throwing  up  the  command  to  this  force,  as  my  retention  of  office 
in  these  circumstances  is  derogatory  to  my  position  as  a  British 
officer,  who  cannot  be  a  suppliant  for  what  Your  Excellency  knows 
to  be  necessities,  and  which  you  should  be  only  too  happy  to  give." 

Having  written  this  dispatch,  Gordon  left  Kunshan  for 
Shanghai,  and  on  arriving  at  that  port  was  met  with  the  news  that 
Burgevine,  who  had  been  for  some  time  at  Shanghai,  had  joined 
the  rebels,  and  had  gone  to  Soochow  to  assist  in  the  defense  of  that 
city.  This  deed  of  infamy  completely  changed,  in  Gordon's  opinion, 
the  aspect  of  affairs,  for  not  only  was  Burgevine's  help  likely  to 
strengthen  the  rebels'  position  at  Soochow,  but,  as  Gordon  was 
well  aware,  a  number  of  officers  and  men  of  the  ever-victorious 
army  had  a  strong  affection  for  their  late  commander,  "  In  these 
circumstances  loyalty  to  the  cause  he  had  adopted  made  Gordon 


T'AIP'ING     REBELLION 


203 


1862 


forget  for  the  moment  Li's  parsimony  and  Ch'eng's  treachery,  and 
without  the  loss  of  an  hour  he  turned  his  horse's  head  and  rode  back 
to  Kunshan." 

For  some  days  Gordon  remained  at  Kunshan,  waiting  to  see 
what  developments  would  arise  from  the  presence  of  Burgevine 
in  the  rebel  ranks.  As  nothing,  however,  occurred,  he  again  took 
the  field,  and  after  some  severe  fighting  captured  an  important 
outwork  before  Soochow.  The  turn  which  things  had  taken  since 
Gordon  had  held  command,  and  the  capture  of  so  many  cities  and 
fortified  places  had  a  depressing  effect  upon  the  T'aip'ings,  and 
Gordon  quickly  learned  that  within  the  walls  of  Soochow  there 
was  a  strongly  supported  movement  in  favor  of  making  terms  with 
the  imperialists.  Several  of  these  faint-hearted  leaders  opened  ne- 
gotiations personally  with  Gordon,  and  at  several  of  the  meetings 
which  took  place  Burgevine  was  present.  Disappointed  with  the 
want  of  spirit  which  he  found  to  exist  in  the  rebel  camp,  this  versatile 
traitor  proposed  to  come  over  to  the  imperialists,  on  condition  that 
he  and  his  men  should  be  declared  free  from  any  penalty  for  the 
part  they  had  taken  in  supporting  the  rebel  cause.  While  preparing 
for  this  tergiversation  he  had  the  folly  to  propose  to  Gordon,  of  all 
men  in  the  world,  that  they  should  together  raise  a  force  and 
march  on  Peking,  overthrow  the  dynasty,  and  on  its  ruins  establish 
an  empire  for  themselves.  With  difficulty  Gordon  refrained  from 
expressing  his  contempt  at  such  a  filibustering  proposition.  Mean- 
while negotiations  went  on,  and  matters  were  hastened  by  a  violent 
incident  which  occurred  within  the  city  walls.  The  garrison  was 
commanded  by  Mu  Wang,  one  of  the  few  honorable  men  in  the 
rebel  ranks,  and  one  who  had  not  joined  the  other  chieftains  in  the 
negotiations  with  Gordon.  He,  however,  was  aware  of  what  was 
going  on  and  invited  the  commanders  to  dinner  to  discuss  the 
situation.  Considerable  heat  was  shown  in  the  course  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  in  the  midst  of  a  vehement  dispute  one  of  the  com- 
manders drew  a  dagger  and  stabbed  Mu  Wang  to  the  heart.  The 
conspirators  then  agreed  to  give  up  one  of  the  gates  to  Gordon's 
force.  Li,  who  was  cognizant  of  the  course  of  events,  moved  to 
the  neighborhood  of  the  city  in  order  to  grace  with  his  presence 
the  expected  triumph.  On  the  gate  being  surrendered,  the  com- 
manders went  out  in  a  body  to  Li's  quarters  to  complete  their 
surrender.  Exactly  what  happened  on  their  entering  the  presence 
of  the  governor  has  never  been  clearly  ascertained.    Li  subsequently 


204  ,     CHINA 

1862 

accused  them  of  having  been  violent  in  their  behavior,  and  ex- 
orbitant in  their  demands ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may,  Li,  in  spite  of  his 
solemn  promise  that  Gordon's  agreement  should  be  observed,  and 
that  the  lives  of  the  commanders  should  be  spared,  ordered  them 
out  to  instant  execution.  The  news  of  this  inhuman  treachery- 
reached  Gordon  in  Soochow,  and  he  then  for  the  first  time  during 
the  campaign  took  a  weapon  in  his  hand.  Arming  himself  with  a 
rifle,  he  went  in  search  of  the  treacherous  Li,  and  would  unques- 
tionably have  shot  him,  if  the  governor,  having  received  timely 
warning  of  his  danger,  had  not  taken  to  flight.  Outside  Li's  late 
headquarters  Gordon  found  the  mangled  remains  of  the  men  to 
whom  he  had  promised  life,  and  the  sight  of  their  mutilated  bodies 
added  grief  and  anger  to  his  mind.  Only  one  course  was,  he  felt, 
open  to  him  in  these  circumstances,  and  he  wrote  to  Li  "  an  in- 
dignant letter,  in  which,  while  proclaiming  the  infamy  of  his  con- 
duct, he  resigned  the  command  of  the  force." 

The  capture  of  Soochow  was  a  crushing  blow  to  the  T'aip'ings, 
and  with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets  Li  announced  the  victory  to 
his  imperial  master,  who,  taking  up  his  vermilion  pencil,  indicted 
an  edict  in  which  he  described  how  "  the  army,  acting  under  orders 
from  Li  Hung  Chang,  captured  in  succession  the  lines  of  rebel 
works  outside  the  four  gates  of  the  city,  and  so  struck  terror  into 
the  enemy  that  urgent  offers  of  returning  allegiance  were  made. 
...  As  a  mark  of  his  sincere  approbation  his  Majesty  is  pleased 
to  confer  upon  him  [Li]  the  honorary  title  of  '  Guardian  of  the 
Heir- Apparent,'  and  to  present  him  with  a  yellow  jacket  [which 
was  temporarily  taken  from  him  at  the  close  of  the  Japanese  war]. 
Gordon,  especially  appointed  general  in  the  army  of  Kiangsu,  was 
in  command  of  troops  who  assisted  in  these  operations.  His 
Majesty,  in  order  to  evince  his  approval  of  the  profound  skill  and 
great  zeal  displayed  by  him,  orders  him  to  receive  a  military 
decoration  of  the  first  rank  and  a  sum  of  10,000  taels."  In  obe- 
dience to  this  edict,  Li  sent  messengers  bearing  the  10,000  taels 
to  the  still  indignant  Gordon,  and  probably  never  in  the  history  of 
the  empire  have  imperial  envoys  dona  ferentes  met  with  such  a 
reception  as  was  accorded  to  these  men.  Gordon  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  leading  his  men  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  carrying  in 
his  hand  only  a  stick  with  which  he  directed  their  movements.  On 
this  occasion  he  seized  the  same  weapon,  and  applying  it  vigor- 
ously to  the  backs  of  the  astonished  envoys,  drove  them  from  his 


f 


LI    HUNG   CHANC 
(Born    1821.     Died    1901) 


T'AIP'ING    REBELLION  205 

1862 

presence,  carrying  with  them  the  blood-stained  money  which  had 
been  sent  for  his  acceptance. 

For  two  months  Gordon  remained  inactive,  but  at  the  end  of 
that  period,  after  much  negotiation,  he  was  induced  once  again  to 
take  the  field.  Soochow  having  fallen,  Gordon's  prime  object  was 
to  join  hands  with  Tseng  Kwofan,  who  was  at  this  time  closely 
besieging  Nanking.  With  complete  success  he  captured  the  two 
cities  which  stood  between  him  and  his  objective,  and  was  about 
to  continue  his  march  toward  the  "  Southern  Capital,"  when  he 
received  an  urgent  message  from  Li,  begging  him  to  join  him  before 
Changchow  Fu.  Li's  appeal  for  help  was  the  more  pressing,  as 
he  had  just  lost  the  services  of  General  Ch'eng,  who,  with  all  his 
faults  and  failings,  and  they  were  neither  few  nor  inconsiderable, 
was  one  of  the  best  generals  of  which  the  imperialists  could  boast. 
In  an  attack  on  Kashing  Fu  he  had  received  a  wound  when  leading 
his  men,  which  rapidly  proved  fatal.  Gordon  consequently  hastened 
to  the  succor  of  his  colleague,  and  after  some  stiff  fighting  captured 
the  city.  With  the  fall  of  this  stronghold  the  province  of  Kiangsu 
was  restored  in  its  entirety  to  the  imperialists,  and  Hangchow  hav- 
ing fallen  to  the  prowess  of  Tso  Chungt'ang,  there  remained  to 
the  rebels  only  the  one  city  of  Nanking.  The  defenses  of  this 
citadel  were  fast  crumbling  away.  Tseng  Kwofan  had  completely 
surrounded  it,  and  provisions  and  ammunition  were  falling  short 
within  the  walls.  By  way  of  lightening  the  burden  on  the  rebel 
commissariat  the  "  Heavenly  King  "  sent  out  the  women  and  chil- 
dren to  the  imperialist  lines.  To  the  credit  of  Tseng  Kwofan  it 
must  be  said  that  he  treated  these  helpless  refugees  with  all  con- 
sideration. He  provided  for  their  wants,  and  sent  them  to  a  place 
of  safety.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  A  few  days  later 
a  mine  which  had  been  laid  by  the  besiegers  was  fired,  and  a  wide 
breach  was  made  in  the  city  wall.  Through  this  opening  the 
imperialists  rushed  in,  and  the  fate  of  the  city  was  at  once  decided. 
The  "  Heavenly  King  "  poisoned  himself  with  gold-leaf,  and  the 
Faithful  Prince,  who  had  defended  the  place  with  the  greatest 
courage,  carried  off  the  youthful  heir  to  the  T'aip'ing  throne,  in  the 
vain  hope  that  he  might  be  able  to  establish  an  empire  in  some  other 
part  of  the  country.  With  characteristic  unselfishness  he  placed  the 
boy  on  his  own  horse,  and  mounted  himself  on  a  less  well-favored 
animal.  But  the  pursuit  was  too  quick  for  them,  and  they  were 
both  captured.     The  boy  was  beheaded  on  the  spot,  and  Chung 


206  CHINA 

1862 

Wang  was  allowed  a  week's  respite  for  the  strange  purpose  of 
thus  having  time  to  write  his  own  memoir.  So  soon  as  he  had 
finished  the  last  line  of  this  curious  production  he  was  carried  out 
to  the  execution  ground.  The  pages  which  he  composed  when 
about  to  die  have  since  been  printed,  and  are  full  of  interesting 
matter,  though,  as  might  be  imagined,  strict  historical  accuracy 
is  not  always  to  be  found  in  them.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  to  this 
man  the  credit  of  having  fought  bravely  and  well  for  the  cause 
which  he  had  adopted,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  all  the 
other  T'aip'ing  leaders  had  been  animated  with  the  same  spirit 
of  devotion  and  energy  as  that  by  which  he  was  actuated,  the 
T'aip'ing  cause  might  have  had  a  very  different  issue. 

The  ever-victorious  army  having  now  served  its  end,  Li  Hung 
Chang,  who  had  always  been  jealous  of  it,  at  once  proposed  its 
disbandment.  Like  all  Chinamen,  Li  was  a  thorough  opportunist. 
When  difficulties  presented  themselves  he  did  his  best  to  grapple 
with  them,  but  when  once  they  disappeared  he  regarded  it  as  quite 
unnecessary  to  prepare  defenses  against  future  evils,  or  to  take  to 
heart  any  lesson  from  defeat  and  failure.  We  have  had  abundant 
evidence  of  this  spirit  of  late  years.  The  wars  of  1858  and  i860, 
the  T'aip'ing  Rebellion,  the  Russian  scare,  the  French  war,  and  the 
Japanese  invasion,  have  all  furnished  examples  of  the  inability  of 
Chinamen  to  do  more  than  struggle,  and  generally  ineffectually, 
with  immediate  events.  In  this  respect  they  are  like  children  in 
whose  eyes  the  present  difficulty  is  the  all-absorbing  subject,  and 
who  do  not  understand  the  possibility  that  the  crisis  may  occur 
again.  One  would  have  expected  that  after  the  experience  of  the 
T'aip'ing  Rebellion  and  the  very  material  aid  given  to  the  imperial 
cause  by  Gordon's  force,  Li  would  have  attempted  to  raise  a  corps 
which  should  be  drilled  and  armed  on  the  same  lines.  But  the 
instant  that  Nanking  had  fallen  he  was  only  too  ready  to  pay  off 
the  ever-victorious  army,  and  to  rid  himself  of  the  hateful  inter- 
meddling of  foreign  officers  in  native  concerns.  Gordon  had  pro- 
posed that  in  order  to  maintain  a  disciplined  force,  a  camp  should 
be  formed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Shanghai,  where  a  native  army 
could  be  drilled  by  European  officers  on  the  English  model.  But 
Li  would  have  none  of  it,  and  was  quite  prepared  to  allow  his 
province  to  revert  to  its  original  condition  of  corruption  and  in- 
efficiency until  such  time  as  some  new  emergency  might  arise  to 
call  for  fresh  exertions.     But  the  most  signal  example  of  this 


T'AIP'ING     REBELLION  207 

1862 

laisses-faire  policy  has  been  displayed  since  the  Japanese  war.  Such 
a  crushing  defeat  by  a  neighboring,  hitherto  despised,  state,  would, 
one  would  have  thought,  have  shamed  the  mandarins  into  taking 
measures  to  make  another  such  disaster  impossible.  But  the  little 
that  has  been  effected  to  strengthen  their  position  has  been  mainly 
due  to  the  pressure  which  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them  by 
Russia  and  Germany.  Another  war  would  scarcely  find  them  in 
much  better  prepared  condition  than  that  in  which  they  were  in 
1894,  and  principally  through  the  lack  of  military  organization.  In 
the  matter  of  armament  and  training,  however,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  considerable  progress  was  shown  to  have  been  reached 
in  1900,  during  the  Boxer  rebellion. 

One  curious  factor  is  that  the  Chinese  seemed  to  feel  no 
real  disgrace  at  their  defeat  by  the  Japanese.  Their  national  pride 
covers  them  as  with  a  garment,  and  they  affect  to  regard  the 
invasion  of  Korea  and  Manchuria  as  burglarious  attempts  on  the 
part  of  Japanese  pirates  to  rob  them,  by  a  raid,  of  their  rightful 
possessions.  They  are  content  to  declare  that  such  conduct  is 
contrary  to  the  rules  of  propriety,  and  with  this  soothing  con- 
sideration seem  to  dismiss  the  subject  from  their  minds.  Shortly 
before  the  fall  of  Nanking  some  gunboats,  which  in  the  hour  of 
their  emergency  the  government  had  ordered  from  England,  ar- 
rived at  Shanghai,  commanded  by  Captain  Sherard  Osborn  of  the 
British  navy.  As  their  active  services  were  no  longer  required,  Li 
set  to  work  to  destroy  their  efficiency.  His  emissaries  attempted 
to  bribe  the  sailors  to  come  over  to  the  native  gunboats  by  offers 
of  large  increases  of  pay,  and  he  proposed  such  impossible  con- 
ditions on  Sherard  Osborn  in  the  case  of  his  fleet  being  employed 
that  that  officer  left  the  port  and  steamed  to  the  Peiho  to  lay  his 
case  before  the  central  government.  But  referring  from  Li  Hung 
Chang  to  the  eight  ministers  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen  was  a  useless 
expenditure  of  time  and  trouble.  Prince  Kung  and  his  col- 
leagues were  in  full  sympathy  with  Li  Hung  Chang  in  this  matter, 
and  having  no  immediate  use  for  the  gunboats,  they  were  only 
too  glad  to  have  the  excuse  of  Captain  Osborn' s  demands  for 
declining  altogether  to  receive  them.  In  the  same  spirit  Li  Hung 
Chang,  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Japanese  war,  got  rid 
of  Captain  Lang,  who  had  been  for  years  in  command  of  the 
northern  fleet,  and  whose  continued  presence  might  have  put  a 
different  complexion  on  the  battle  of  the  Yalu.     This  curious 


208 


CHINA 


1862 

failure  to  understand  the  necessity  of  preparing  for  emergencies  has 
brought  disaster  after  disaster  upon  the  country,  and  at  the  present 
moment  there  is  no  sign  that  the  authorities  are  sufficiently  alive 
to  the  obligations  which  rest  on  them  if  they  would  preserve  the 
existence  of  the  empire.  Many  regiments  of  their  troops  are 
still  armed  with  bows  and  arrows;  immense  stores  of  ammunition 
are  absolutely  useless,  and  their  weapons  are  frequently  obsolete. 


Chapter   XI 

THE   NIENFEI   AND   MOHAMMEDAN   REBELLIONS 

1851-1870 

SOONER  than  might  have  been  expected  Li  Hung  Chang  was 
called  upon  to  meet  an  emergency  in  which  he  had  again  to 
appeal  to  foreigners  for  help.  The  suppression  of  the  T'aip'- 
ing  Rebellion  had  not  altogether  restored  peace  to  the  country.  The 
storm  was  over,  but  the  ground-swell  still  remained,  and  from  the 
disturbing  elements  which  had  been  evoked  another  movement, 
hostile  to  the  imperial  government,  rose  in  arms.  The  rebels  had 
been  so  long  accustomed  to  live  by  plunder  rather  than  by  honest 
work  that,  when  as  T'aip'ings  their  occupation  was  gone,  they  com- 
bined together  again  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  in  the  provinces 
of  Shantung  and  Honan.  Under  the  title  of  Nienfei  these  restless 
marauders  wandered  over  the  country  looting  and  murdering. 
With  some  success  they  captured  open  towns  and  villages,  and  so 
serious  was  at  one  time  the  aspect  of  affairs  that  Li,  whose  ex- 
periences at  Kiangsu  were  considered  to  have  peculiarly  fitted  him 
for  the  task,  was  appointed  commissioner  to  suppress  the  rising. 

On  receiving  his  nomination  Li  at  once  enlisted  the  services 
of  as  many  of  his  old  European  officers  as  still  were  to  be  found 
in  Shanghai,  and  with  these  as  the  backbone  of  his  force  he  took 
the  field  against  the  rebels.  The  province  of  Shantung,  where 
the  rebels  were  strongest,  so  far  resembles  in  outline  the  province 
of  Kiangsu  that  three  sides  of  it,  the  north,  east,  and  south,  are 
washed  by  the  ocean.  It  had  been  Li's  aim  in  the  previous  cam- 
paign to  drive  the  T'aip'ings  into  the  promontory  of  Kiangsu,  and 
now,  imitating  the  same  tactics,  he  attempted  to  urge  the  Nienfei 
against  the  seaboard  in  Shantung,  and  there  to  overwhelm  them. 
He  was  so  far  successful  that  he  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy 
into  the  desired  position.  But  he  had  forgotten  that  troops  could 
be  transported  by  sea  as  well  as  moved  on  land,  and  to  his  extreme 
mortification,  after  having  built  a  wall  across  the  neck  of  the 

S09 


210  CHINA 

1851 

promontory,  he  found  that  the  rebels  had  taken  ship,  had  outflanked 
his  position,  and  were  pursuing  their  predatory  career  in  the  dis- 
tricts in  his  rear.  For  this  and  other  failures  he  was  robbed  of 
the  yellow  yacket,  which  he  had  won  against  the  T'aip'ings,  and 
was  ordered  back  to  his  viceroyalty — having  in  the  meantime  be- 
come viceroy  of  the  Liang  Hu  provinces.  By  the  skillful  use  of 
his  court  influence,  however,  he  retained  his  position,  and  by  a 
fortunate  series  of  victories,  finally  achieved  the  success  which  at 
first  was  denied  him.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign  he  was 
granted  an  imperial  audience,  when  he  had  the  gratification  of  once 
more  finding  the  yellow  jacket  placed  upon  his  shoulders. 

It  is  well  for  the  Manchu  Dynasty  of  China  that  the  rebellions 
which  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  empire  during  the  last  century 
were  guided  by  men  who  proved  themselves  quite  incapable  of 
establishing  a  settled  government  in  the  districts  over  which  they 
established  their  power.  While  the  imperial  forces  were  engaged 
in  a  death  struggle  with  the  T'aip'ings,  another  rebellion,  which 
at  one  time  seemed  likely  to  assume  very  serious  proportions,  broke 
out  in  the  province  of  Yunnan.  That  district  has  always  contained 
a  large  Mohammedan  population.  Accounts  differ  as  to  whence 
these  followers  of  the  Prophet  originally  came.  They  themselves 
have  a  legend  that  during  a  rebellion  in  the  eighth  century,  a  mis- 
sion was  sent  by  the  reigning  emperor  to  Bagdad  asking  the 
caliph  for  succor  against  his  revolting  subjects.  In  answer  to  this 
appeal  three  thousand  Turkish  soldiers  were  lent  to  the  hardly 
pressed  "  Son  of  Heaven."  Having  successfully  accomplished  their 
errand  they  were  naturally  inclined  to  return  to  their  native  lands, 
but  were  refused  admission  among  their  countrymen  on  the  ground 
that  they  had  been  defiled  by  a  residence  among  pork-eating  infi- 
dels. They,  therefore,  made  up  their  minds  to  settle  in  Yunnan, 
where  some  few  remnants  of  these  first  immigrants  remain  at  the 
present  day.  Color  is  given  to  this  account  by  the  fact  that  the 
people  in  their  appearance  resemble  natives  of  Arabia  more  nearly 
than  sons  of  Han.  By  the  constant  intermarriage  with  the  Chinese 
their  features  have  become  to  a  great  extent  Sinicised,  though  they 
can  be  still  readily  distinguished  by  their  superior  stature,  greater 
physical  strength,  and  more  energetic  physiognomies.  But  what- 
ever may  be  the  semblance  of  truth  in  this  story,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  province 
of  Yunnan  was  largely  populated  by  Mohammedans,  and  we  know 


MOHAMMEDAN     REBELLIONS  «11 

1851-1855 

from  the  records  that  a  century  earlier  the  faith  of  Islam  was  car- 
ried into  China  by  Mussulman  emigrants  from  central  Asia. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  present  century  these  strangers  and 
pilgrims  seem  to  have  lived  at  peace  with  their  Confucianist  and 
Buddhist  neighbors.  At  times  no  doubt  they  felt  the  heavy  hand 
of  oppression,  at  the  instance  of  narrow-minded  officials,  and  in 
1 85 1  so  fierce  a  persecution  arose  that  an  urgent  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  throne,  accusing  the  emperor's  officials  of  gross  op- 
pression and  wrong,  and  praying  that  a  just  and  honest  man  might 
be  sent  to  rule  in  Yunnan.  This  memorial  was  unproductive  of 
any  results,  but  for  a  time  nothing  occurred  to  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  province.  In  1855,  however,  a  riot  broke  out  at  one  of  the 
copper  mines  for  which  Yunnan  is  famous.  Unfortunately  the 
mandarin  in  command  of  the  district  combined  cowardice  with 
incompetency,  and  took  to  flight,  leaving  the  rioters  to  fight  out 
their  difficulty.  A  general  massacre  is  a  very  common  Chinese 
remedy  for  suppressing  a  revolt,  and  the  Yunnan  officials  deemed 
this  a  proper  opportunity  for  applying  the  exterminating  cure.  The 
viceroy,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  raised  a  protest  against  so  drastic 
a  remedy,  but  finding  himself  unable  to  check  his  subordinates, 
committed  suicide  in  order  to  emphasize  his  disapproval.  Unfortu- 
nately this  self-sacrifice  was  unavailing,  and  in  spite  of  the  vice- 
royal  incident  a  day  was  fixed  for  the  slaughter.  Although  rumors 
had  been  rife  that  this  wholesale  murder  was  to  be  committed,  the 
Mohammedans  were,  strangely  enough,  taken  by  surprise,  and 
many  fell  victims  to  the  relentless  swords  of  the  mandarins.  But 
a  remnant  was  left,  and  these  men,  driven  desperate  by  the  conduct 
of  their  oppressors,  banded  themselves  together,  vowing  to  oppose 
to  the  death  the  imperial  rule  in  Yunnan.  Two  leaders  were  at 
this  time  forced  to  the  front  by  circumstances.  One  was  a  man 
named  Ma,  who  exercised  priestly  functions,  and  who  had  accumu- 
lated religious  sanctity  by  having  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 
After  his  visit  to  that  sacred  city  he  had  traveled  through  Egypt 
and  Turkey,  and  had  returned  to  China  with  a  high  reputation 
for  religious  zeal  and  knowledge.  The  other  chieftain  was  known 
as  Tu.  This  man,  who,  as  was  afterward  seen,  proved  to  be  the 
staunchest  commander  of  the  two,  took  early  possession  of  the 
important  city  of  Tali  Fu,  and  there  organized  some  sort  of  local 
government.  In  choosing  this  city  as  his  headquarters  he  showed 
a  keen  eye  for  military  defense.     Dr.  Anderson  in  his  "  Mandalay 


212  CHINA 

1855-1857 

to  Momein,"  thus  described  this  stronghold :  "  Although  Tali  Fu 
is  a  small  town  the  population  of  which  did  not  at  that  time  (1857) 
exceed  thirty-five  thousand,  the  rich  plain  walled  in  by  mountains, 
and  with  a  lake  teeming  with  fish,  stretching  forty  miles  in  length 
and  ten  in  breadth,  maintained  a  population  estimated  before  the 
war  at  four  hundred  thousand;  .  .  .  the  mountains  to  the 
north  and  south  close  in  upon  the  lake,  and  the  plain  and  city  are 
accessible  only  by  two  strongly  fortified  passes.  .  .  .  Thus 
Tali  has  been  from  the  earliest  times  a  strong  city;  it  was  the 
capital  of  a  kingdom  at  the  invasion  of  Kublai  Khan,  and  is  still 
regarded  by  the  Tibetans,  who  make  pilgrimages  to  its  vicinity,  as 
the  ancient  home  of  their  forefathers." 

Secure  in  the  possession  of  this  stronghold  Tu  declared  himself 
independent  of  Ma,  who  was  thus  left  to  command  such  forces 
in  the  field  as  he  was  able  to  collect.  At  the  head  of  his  somewhat 
ragged  regiments  he  attacked  the  city  of  Yunnan  Fu,  and  was 
repulsed  without  much  difficulty.  In  1859,  however,  he  reap- 
peared before  its  walls  at  the  head  of  fifty  thousand  fighting-men. 
This  attack  was  seriously  meant,  and  the  imperialist  garrison  was 
reduced  to  such  a  parlous  state  that  they  were  on  the  point  of  sur- 
rendering, when,  to  their  infinite  surprise  and  relief,  they  received 
proposals  from  Ma  of  negotiations  for  peace,  on  the  understanding 
that  he  and  his  men  should  be  accepted  as  imperialist  recruits.  This 
opportunity  of  escape  from  a  dire  and  impending  disaster  was  too 
convenient  to  be  allowed  to  lapse,  and  the  terms  were  not  only 
promptly  arranged  between  the  leaders  on  the  spot,  but  met  with 
full  and  instant  approval  at  Peking.  Ma  himself  was  promised 
high  office  in  the  state,  and  his  kinsman  of  the  same  surname,  and 
who  enjoyed  the  personal  name  of  Julung,  was  made  a  general  in 
the  imperial  army.  When  sides  are  so  easily  exchanged  and  prizes 
so  easily  won,  the  temptation  to  indulge  in  personal  ambitions  is 
more  than  most  men,  and  especially  Orientals,  can  resist,  and  on 
the  occasion  of  Ma  Julung  taking  the  field  against  the  rebel  force, 
his  lieutenant,  whom  he  had  left  in  command  at  Yunnan  Fu,  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt,  murdered  the  viceroy,  and  took  possession 
of  the  town  in  the  Mohammedan  interest.  This  treacherous  move 
was  short-lived.  Ma  hastened  back  to  the  city,  effected  an  entrance 
through  the  walls,  and  after  five  days'  hard  fighting  restored  all 
that  was  left  of  it  to  the  imperial  sway.  During  this  time  Tu  was 
consolidating  his  power  at  Tali  Fu,  and  being  a  man  of  determina- 


MOHAMMEDAN     REBELLIONS  213 

1859-1867 

tion  and  vigor,  whose  authority  it  was  essential  to  check,  it  was 
deemed  best  and  safest  by  the  imperiahsts  to  attempt  to  subdue  him 
by  offers  of  preferment,  rather  than  by  attacks  on  his  fortress. 
The  priestly  Ma,  being  of  a  diplomatic  turn,  was  deputed  to  open 
relations  with  him,  and  by  displaying  the  honors  which  had  re- 
warded his  own  treachery  to  persuade  him  to  follow  his  example. 
But  the  chieftain  was  made  of  sterner  stuff  than  his  interviewer,  and 
treated  with  disdain  his  dastardly  proposals. 

When  so  vast  a  province  as  Yunnan,  covering  as  it  does  an 
area  of  107,969  square  miles,  is  in  the  throes  of  rebellion,  it  is 
impossible  to  suppose  that  the  spirit  of  unrest  should  not  spread  to 
the  neighboring  districts.  In  the  adjoining  province  of  Kweichow 
existed,  and  still  exists,  a  large  population  of  Miaotzu,  who  have 
an  origin  distinct  from  the  Chinese,  being  the  survivors  of  one 
of  the  original  races  which  occupied  the  empire  before  the  advent 
of  the  Chinese.  As  the  primitive  invaders  advanced  into  the  coun- 
try the  Miaotzu,  like  the  other  aboriginal  tribes,  retreated  to  the 
mountain  fastnesses  in  Kweichow,  Kwangsi,  and  on  the  Tibetan 
frontier.  In  these  places  they  have  persistently  held  themselves 
aloof  from  their  more  powerful  neighbors,  and,  though  ordinarily 
peaceful,  have  on  repeated  occasions  been  goaded  by  oppression 
into  taking  up  arms  against  their  tyrants.  For  some  unexplained 
reason  these  tribes  broke  out  into  revolt  in  1863,  and  thus  placed 
the  imperial  forces  in  Yunnan  between  two  fires.  Another  aspirant 
to  leadership,  named  Liang,  at  the  same  time  raised  the  standard  of 
disaffection  at  a  town  called  Linan  Fu.  This  further  added  to 
the  difficulties  of  the  imperialists,  which  were  already  sufficiently 
embarrassing.  For  some  three  or  four  years  the  condition  of  affairs 
remained  practically  unchanged.  There  was  fighting  here  and 
there,  but  no  distinct  advantage  was  gained  by  either  side.  Later 
on,  in  1867,  an  attack,  made  by  Ma  on  the  defenders  of  Tali  Fu, 
proved  unsuccessful,  and  he  in  no  way  succeeded  in  preventing  Tu 
from  keeping  open  his  communications  with  Burma,  from  which 
convenient  territory  he  was  able  to  procure  an  unfailing  supply 
of  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  support  of  his  cause.  But  after 
all  he  was  constrained  to  feel  that,  though  holding  his  own,  he  was 
not  making  headway,  and  he  could  not  but  recognize  that  support 
from  the  outside  was  necessary  to  enable  him  to  continue  to  main- 
tain a  successful  struggle.  He  had  entertained  in  his  dominions, 
and  had  been  civilly  treated  by,  the  members  of  an  English  mission 


214.  CHINA 

1867-1869 

sent  from  Burma  to  report  upon  the  trading  facilities  which  might 
be  hoped  for  from  Yunnan.  His  thoughts,  therefore,  naturally- 
turned  toward  England,  and  he  dispatched  a  nephew  to  London 
with  directions  to  open  relations  with  the  English  Government,  in 
the  hope  that  they  might  be  induced  to  lend  their  countenance  to 
his  cause.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  these  overtures  were  declined. 
But  this  was  not  all.  They  indirectly  had  a  most  disastrous  effect 
on  the  fortunes  of  the  rebels,  for  the  Chinese  Government,  alarmed 
at  the  mere  possibility  of  foreign  interference,  determined  to  crush 
once  and  for  all  the  Mohammedan  movement.  Meanwhile  Tu  had 
attempted  to  turn  the  scales  on  his  enemies,  and  had  besieged 
Yunnan  Fu.  The  venture,  however,  proved  unsuccessful,  and  he 
had  again  to  betake  himself  for  shelter  to  the  stout  walls  of  Tali 
Fu.  While  the  imperial  authorities  were,  in  that  leisurely  way 
which  belongs  to  them,  gathering  themselves  up  for  the  fatal  spring 
upon  the  Mohammedans,  matters  dragged  on  and  were  diversified 
only  by  petty  engagements,  and  by  the  treacherous  murder  of  some 
rebel  chiefs  who  had  surrendered  themselves  on  the  usual  under- 
standing that  their  lives  would  be  spared.  Like  most  acts  of  treach- 
erous cruelty,  this  one  was  both  unwise  and  uncalled  for.  It  embit- 
tered the  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Mohammedans  against  the 
imperialists,  and  disinclined  men  who  were  disposed  to  go  over 
to  the  emperor's  generals  to  trust  themselves  to  their  tender  mercies. 
A  large  importation  of  Hunan  soldiers,  commanded  by  one 
of  Tseng  Kwofan's  lieutenants,  added  greatly  to  the  imperial 
strength  at  this  time,  and  a  forced  contribution  of  70,000  taels  per 
month,  which  was  contributed  by  six  of  the  other  provinces,  placed 
the  provincial  exchequer  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  condition. 
With  these  auxiliary  forces  the  emperor's  cause  began  to  make 
way,  and  gradually  the  whole  province  was  recovered  with  the 
exception  of  the  one  city,  Tali  Fu.  With  an  irresistible  weight 
of  numbers  the  imperialists  closely  besieged  this  doomed  stronghold, 
and  it  soon  became  evident  that  it  was  destined  to  fall  into  their 
hands.  In  so  exhausted  and  starving  a  condition  did  the  garrison 
become  at  last  that  Tu  opened  negotiations  for  the  surrender  of 
the  town.  One  wonders  at  the  folly  of  men  who  could  trust 
their  lives  in  the  hands  of  opponents  who  had  in  almost  every 
case  falsified  their  treaty  oaths,  and  had  slaughtered  without 
mercy  those  to  whom  they  had  promised  life.  But  so  it  was.  Tu 
surrendered  himself  knowingly  to  death,  the  imperialists  having 


MOHAMMEDAN     REBELLIONS  215 

1867-1869 

refused  to  spare  his  life.  But  the  other  chieftains  encouraged  them- 
selves to  believe  that  in  their  cases  the  compact  would  be  kept. 
On  the  day  appointed  for  the  delivery  of  the  city,  Tu  was  carried 
through  the  streets  and  out  to  the  imperial  camp  in  a  sedan-chair, 
accompanied  with  every  insignia  of  empire.  With  impatient  desire 
General  Ma  received  this  equipage,  which,  when  opened,  however, 
revealed,  to  his  disappointment,  that  he  was  possessed  with  but 
the  corpse  of  the  dreaded  chief.  Another  version  of  the  surrender 
states  that  Tu,  on  presenting  himself  before  the  commander-in- 
chief,  asked  for  a  cup  of  cold  water.  This  was  given  him,  and  he 
fell  dead  from  the  effects  of  a  poison  which  the  water  had  suddenly 
brought  into  action.  Though  robbed  of  his  living  victim,  Ma 
decapitated  the  corpse,  and  sent  the  head,  preserved  in  honey,  to 
grace  the  palace  of  his  imperial  master.  The  usual  events  followed 
on  the  surrender  of  the  city.  The  Mohammedan  leaders  were 
invited  to  a  grand  feast,  and  while  yet  they  sat  at  meat,  a  body  of 
soldiers,  who  had  been  concealed  in  the  room,  rushed  out  on  them 
and  cut  them  down  to  the  last  man.  This  villainy  having  been  ef- 
fected, a  further  outrage  was  committed.  At  a  given  signal  the 
soldiers  were  let  loose  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  city.  The  scenes 
that  were  there  witnessed  are  not  to  be  surpassed  in  horror.  The 
troops  slaughtered  their  helpless  victims  until  fatigue  made  it 
impossible  for  them  to  deal  out  further  murders,  and  no  fewer 
than  thirty  thousand  men,  women,  and  children  perished  in  the 
massacre. 

For  seventeen  years  the  province  had  been  desolated  by  the 
relentless  wars  of  which  it  had  been  the  scene,  while  to  add  to  the 
horrors  of  the  situation  the  plague  had  swept  over  whole  districts, 
and  carried  havoc  into  the  ranks  of  the  rebels  and  their  opponents 
alike.  Up  to  this  day  Yunnan  has  not  recovered  from  these  fearful 
visitations.  Whole  neighborhoods  are  still  untenanted  and  the  lands 
uncultivated.  Though  rich  in  minerals,  the  soil  is  not  on  the  whole 
productive,  and  as  the  mandarins  hold  with  a  jealous  care  a  mo- 
nopoly over  the  mines,  there  is  little  to  attract  immigrants  into 
the  province.  That  as  a  mining  district  it  has  great  possibilities 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  with  the  prospect  of  railway  communica- 
tion with  Burma,  it  may  be  that  a  great  future  lies  before  the 
present  unhappy  district. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  while  there  was  no  kind  of  con- 
nection or  intercommunicatron  between  the  Mohammedans  of  Yun- 


216 


CHINA 


1857-1869 

nan  and  their  coreligionists  in  northwestern  China,  a  wave  of  re- 
bellion should  have  swept  over  the  provinces  of  Shensi  and  Kansu 
at  the  same  time  that  Ma  and  Tu  were  raising  the  standard  of  revolt 
in  the  southwest.  At  this  time,  1857,  the  T'aip'ing  Rebellion  was 
so  fully  occupying  the  attention  of  the  Chinese  Government  that 
they  were  unable  to  do  more  than  hold  in  check  the  revolted  fol- 
lowers of  the  Prophet,  and  it  was  not  until  five  years  afterward 
that  an  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  fanned  the 
smouldering  ashes  of  discontent  into  a  flame.  The  position  now 
required  more  stringent  measures  than  had  hitherto  been  taken,  and 


OKTKICTS  RAVMtOVT   IHSUKMCTION 
Nienfl  \ssNx 
Mohammedan  ////// 
MiaotsU  t/ftim 


two  Chinese  commissioners  were  dispatched  to  restore  order  in 
the  disturbed  districts.  In  an  ill-fated  moment  a  plot  was  laid  for 
the  murder  of  these  men,  and  while  one  escaped,  the  other  suffered 
death  at  the  hands  of  the  assassins.  The  murderer,  when  taken, 
was  done  to  death  with  the  utmost  refinement  of  cruelty,  and  a  de- 
cree was  issued  by  the  young  emperor,  T'ungchih,  ordering  a  gen- 
eral massacre  of  all  those  who  should  persist  in  following  the  creed 
of  Islam.  With  considerable  and  unwonted  success  the  emperor's 
forces  suppressed  the  rebellion  within  the  frontier  of  China  proper. 
But  beyond  the  Great  Wall  stretches  a  dreary  waste  as  far  as 
Aksu,  which  is  dotted  at  distant  and  lonely  intervals  by  cities,  held 


MOHAMMEDAN     REBELLIONS  217 

1857-1872 

in  the  name  of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  These  garrisons  were  mostly 
Mohammedan,  and,  infected  with  the  desire  of  throwing  off  the 
Chinese  yoke,  they  broke  out  into  a  simultaneous  revolt.  In  these 
wild  districts  there  are  always  elements  of  disorder  lying  dormant, 
but  ready  to  rise  into  action  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  on  all  sides 
the  pretenders  to  lost  thrones  and  aspirants  to  chieftainships  took 
up  arms  against  the  paramount  power  in  the  hope  that  in  the  pre- 
vailing disorder  they  might  be  able  to  satisfy  their  ambitions.  By 
the  surviving  loyal  garrisons  T'ungchih's  truculent  order  was, 
however,  faithfully  obeyed,  though  in  one  instance  at  least  the 
tables  were  turned  on  the  would-be  murderers.  It  had  been  ar- 
ranged by  the  Chinese  garrisons  in  Yarkand  that  they  should  at 
a  given  hour  put  all  their  Mohammedan  fellow-soldiers  to  the 
sword,  and  this  would  doubtless  have  been  done,  had  not  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Prophet  taken  time  by  the  forelock  and  risen  against 
the  too  dilatory  Chinese.  At  Khokand  the  last  surviving  son  of 
Jehangir,  who  had  been  Taokwang's  restless  opponent,  attempted 
to  wrest  from  the  Chinese  the  city  which  he  pretended  to  regard 
as  his  own.  Had  this  man  been  left  to  fight  his  own  battles  his 
career  would  probably  have  been  a  still  shorter  one  than  it  was. 
But  with  the  assistance  of  Yakoob  Khan,  an  able  and  energetic 
officer,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  as  ruler  in  Khokand. 
He  had  no  sooner,  however,  reached  the  pinnacle  of  his  ambition 
than  he  was  deposed  by  Yakoob,  who,  having  won  the  laurels  of 
victory,  thought  himself  entitled  to  wear  the  crown  of  empire.  In 
the  East  such  acts  of  treachery  receive  no  condemnation  so  long 
as  they  are  successful,  and  Yakoob's  sovereignty  received  the  seal 
of  general  recognition  by  a  solemn  act  in  which  the  title  of  Athalik 
Ghazi,  "  The  Champion  Father,"  was  conferred  on  him  at  the 
hands  of  the  Amir  of  Bokhara.  Unfortunately  for  the  Chinese, 
the  movement  which  had  swept  over  the  wide  regions  south  of  the 
T'ienshan  Mountains  spread  into  the  province  of  Hi,  where  oc- 
curred a  repetition  of  all  those  unspeakable  horrors  which  usually 
accompany  Asiatic  outbreaks.  In  this  case,  however,  the  rebels 
and  their  opponents  came  into  contact  with  a  power  which  has 
not  on  all  occasions  shown  itself  friendly  to  the  cause  of  the  "  Son 
of  Heaven."  For  some  time  Russia  endured  in  silence  the  local 
disturbances  which  broke  out  across  her  frontier  and  ignored  the 
raids  which  were  not  unfrequently  made  into  her  territory  by  flying 
rebels  or  retreating  imperialists.     At  length  the  disorders  reached 


218  CHINA 

1857-1876 

a  point,  or  the  Russians  were  satisfied  to  think  that  they 
had  done  so,  when  they  could  no  longer  be  endured,  and  the 
Muscovite  authorities  gave  formal  notice  to  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment that  they  were  about  at  once  to  march  in  and  take  possession 
of  the  province  until  such  time  as  the  Chinese  Government  was 
able  effectively  to  reoccupy  the  territory.  Meanwhile,  the  Chinese 
Government  was  moving  up  troops  preparatory  to  a  regular  cam- 
paign against  the  rebels  farther  south.  Tso  Chungt'ang,  who  had 
served  against  the  T'aip'ings  with  distinction  and  honor,  was  made 
viceroy  of  Shensi  and  Kansu,  with  complete  control  over  the  mili- 
tary movements.  Fortunately  Tso  was  a  man  of  proved  ability 
and  of  great  steadfastness  of  purpose.  The  task  before  him  was 
one  of  supreme  importance,  and  practically  meant  the  recovery  to 
the  Chinese  Crown  of  the  whole  of  central  Asia,  as  well  as  the 
pacification  of  the  two  provinces  over  which  he  was  directly  called 
upon  to  preside.  With  indefatigable  energy  he  set  about  the  gi- 
gantic undertaking,  and  was  fortunate  in  the  choice  of  his  subor- 
dinate. General  Kinshun,  who  throughout  the  campaign  showed 
marked  military  ability.  By  the  end  of  1872  Tso  had  closely  be- 
sieged the  important  city  of  Suchow,  which  ultimately  surrendered 
to  his  arms.  Having  achieved  this  success  it  was  arranged  that 
he  should  remain  at  the  base  to  organize  the  expeditionary  forces, 
while  Kinshun  should  march  across  the  dreary  desert  of  Gobi,  which 
lies  between  the  frontier  of  China  proper  and  Barkul.  Without 
meeting  with  any  serious  resistance  he  captured  that  town,  and 
then,  returning  to  Hami,  succeeded  in  adding  the  capture  of  that 
stronghold  to  his  triumphs.  With  the  force  at  his  command,  how- 
ever, he  felt  unable  to  advance  farther  into  the  rebel  country,  and 
in  conjunction  with  Tso  desired  the  establishment  of  communica- 
tions over  the  three  or  four  hundred  miles  which  separate  Hami 
from  Suchow.  Then  followed  one  of  those  episodes  which  only 
the  Orient  can  produce  and  which  was  particularly  typical  of  China. 
Chinese  methods  occasionally  grind  surely,  but  they  always  grind 
slowly,  and  with  the  most  leisurely  indifference  the  two  chiefs 
arranged  that  on  the  several  oases  in  the  desert  crops  should  be 
grown  for  the  supply  of  the  expedition  which  was  to  be  dispatched 
into  central  Asia.  For  the  time  being  the  soldiers  were  turned  into 
farm  laborers.  They  sowed  their  seed,  they  watered  their  fields, 
and  when  the  autumn  sun  had  ripened  their  crops  they  reaped  their 
harvests.    By  this  time,  1876,  Tso's  legions  were  ready  to  advance. 


I 


I 


MOHAMMEDAN     REBELLIONS  219 

1876-1878 

After  a  successful  march  Kinshun's  troops  appeared  before 
Urumtsi,  which,  to  their  surprise  and  reHef,  surrendered  without 
striking  a  blow.  Manas  was  the  next  objective  of  the  imperial 
forces.  Here  the  defense  was  ably  conducted,  and  it  was  only 
by  closely  besieging  the  walls  that  at  length  the  garrison  was 
starved  into  the  act  of  surrender.  Experience  had  probably  taught 
the  rebels  that  a  vanquished  foe  had  no  mercy  to  expect  from 
Chinese  soldiers,  and  when,  therefore,  the  time  came  to  surrender 
the  city,  the  garrison  marched  out  in  fighting  order,  and  with 
their  women  and  children  enclosed  within  solid  phalanxes  of  men. 
Their  object  in  adopting  this  order  was  obvious,  and  was  put  be- 
yond doubt  by  a  desperate  charge  which  they  made  to  force  their 
way  through  the  Chinese  lines.  In  this  they  were  unsuccessful, 
and  while  the  lives  of  the  women  and  children  were  spared  by 
the  special  orders  of  Kinshun,  no  restraining  hand  was  put  on 
the  soldiers  to  prevent  the  slaughter  of  the  garrison.  From  this 
point  onward  the  Chinese  triumphed  all  along  the  line,  and  though 
Yakoob  Khan  intervened  on  behalf  of  the  rebels,  he  failed  utterly 
to  turn  back  the  tide  of  war.  After  several  defeats  this  celebrated 
leader  returned  to  Korla,  where  he  died  from  disease,  or,  as  was 
broadly  stated  at  the  time,  by  a  dose  of  poison.  Aksu,  Yarkand, 
Kashgar,  and  Khoten  fell  before  the  victorious  Chinese  generals, 
who  thus,  in  the  year  1878,  were  able  to  report  to  the  throne  that 
the  emperor  was  again  master  of  his  own.  Honors  were  showered 
on  the  successful  commanders,  and  Tso  was  admitted  to  the  Grand 
Secretariat,  was  made  a  member  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and  was 
promoted  to  be  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces. 

It  is  necessary  now  to  revert  to  the  period  at  the  close  of  the 
war  of  i860.  In  order  to  make  the  sequence  of  events  intelligible 
it  was  considered  advisable  to  trace  the  history  of  the  T'aip'ing 
movement  and  the  rebellions  which  may  be  said  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  have  sprung  from  it.  The  system  of  administration  in 
China  is  a  very  disjointed  one,  and  events  of  high  moment  and 
concern  may,  and  often  do,  occur  in  one  part  of  that  unwieldy 
empire,  and  yet  leave  no  trace  on  the  rest  of  the  country.  The 
rebellions  which  have  been  dealt  with  in  this  chapter  may  be  con- 
sidered in  this  sense  to  be  little  more  than  local  outbreaks,  and  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  affected  the  affairs  at  Peking.  So  soon 
as  the  Allies  left  for  the  south  in  i860  the  Grand  Council  of  State 
took  into  consideration  the  question  of  the  future  management  of 


220  CHINA 

1860-1867 

foreign  affairs.  Up  to  this  time  the  government,  with  that  con- 
temptuous disregard  of  everything  relating  to  the  Outer  Barbarians 
which  belongs  to  them,  had  relegated  the  management  of  foreign 
affairs  to  the  Lifan  Yuan,  or  "  Colonial  Office."  That  is  to  say, 
European  affairs  were  classed  with  the  trivial  concerns  of  Mon- 
golian and  Central  Asian  nomads.  The  continuation  of  this  sys- 
tem was  plainly  impossible  now  that  relations  with  foreign  gov- 
ernments had  become  closer,  and  it  was  determined  therefore  to 
establish  a  bureau,  called  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  or  "  Yamen  of  Gen- 
eral Superintendence,"  which  should  serve  the  purposes  of  a  for- 
eign office. 

Prince  Kung  was  nominated  the  first  president,  with  Wenh- 
siang  and  Kweiliang  as  his  colleagues.  As  the  business  in- 
creased additions  were  made  to  this  board,  and  at  the  present  time 
it  numbers  eleven  magnates,  who  daily  discuss  foreign  affairs,  and 
do  very  little  else.  Sir  Harry  Parkes  likened  a  visit  to  the  Tsungli 
Yamen  to  lowering  buckets  into  a  bottomless  well.  The  first  few 
years  of  T'ungchih's  reign  passed  quietly  enough,  and  the  govern- 
ment discussed  with  the  foreign  ministers,  who  were  now  estab- 
lished in  legations  at  Peking,  the  means  by  which  they  might  so 
strengthen  the  empire  as  to  make  it  a  really  independent  state. 
Much  good  advice  was  lavished  on  these  occasions,  and  some  faint 
efforts  were  made  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  given.  The 
main  desire  of  the  regency  was  to  strengthen  the  army,  and  with 
this  object  drill  books  were  translated  from  English  into  Chinese, 
and  arsenals  were  established  at  Foochow,  Nanking,  and  Shanghai. 
At  the  first-named  port  a  French  naval  officer,  Giguel,  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent,  and  at  Nanking  Dr.  Macartney,  now  Sir 
Haliday,  presided  over  the  management.  These  three  establish- 
ments did  good  work  within  certain  limits.  But  the  Chinese  military 
service  suffers  under  the  extreme  disability  of  being  a  despised  pro- 
fession, and  so  long  as  this  is  the  case  arsenals  may  continue  to 
turn  out  guns,  and  dockyards  may  produce  ships,  but  the  officers 
will  be  always  inefficient  and  the  men  untrustworthy.  But  the 
Chinese  have  from  all  time  depended  more  on  negotiation  and 
diplomacy  to  keep  their  enemies  from  the  gate,  than  on  weapons 
of  defense.  Already  they  had  repented  themselves  that  they  had 
granted  many  of  the  concessions  which  were  embodied  in  the  treaties 
and  they  at  once  began  to  whittle  down  the  more  generous  clauses 
of  those  agreements.     The  admission  of   foreign  ministers   into 


I 


MOHAMMEDAN    REBELLIONS  SSI 

1867-1870 

Peking  was  regarded  as  such  an  enormous  privilege,  and  the 
Chinese  took  every  means  in  their  power  to  magnify  the  boon. 
The  first  representatives  of  the  European  courts  in  the  capital  were 
overawed  by  the  position  which  they  were  called  upon  to  occupy,  and 
in  response  to  civil  words  and  pleasant  phrases  from  members  of 
the  Tsungli  Yamen,  sometimes  showed  a  disposition  to  yield  the 
rights  acquired  by  their  countrymen.  The  United  States  ambassa- 
dor at  this  time  was  Anson  Burlingame.  In  1867,  when  he  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  returning  home,  Prince  Kung  offered  to 
appoint  him  special  ambassador  to  his  country  and  the  great  Euro- 
pean powers,  for  the  purpose  of  framing  treaties  of  amity  with 
those  nations.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  eloquence  and  en- 
thusiastic temperament.  Burlingame  gained  some  share  of  success 
for  the  objects  of  his  mission,  which  mainly  consisted  of  the  plea 
that  China  should  be  allowed  to  manage  her  own  affairs.  He  was 
well  received  and  negotiated  treaties  with  the  United  States,  Eng- 
land, Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Holland,  and  had  entered  upon  nego- 
tiations at  St.  Petersburg,  when  in  1870  he  died. 

Meanwhile  at  Yangchow,  northeast  of  Nanking,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Kiangsu,  serious  trouble  was  brewing.  Hudson  Taylor,  the 
leading  spirit  in  the  China  Inland  Mission,  had  taken  advantage 
of  the  clause  in  the  treaty  which  provided  that  "  since  the  Christian 
religion,  as  professed  by  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics,  incul- 
cates the  practice  of  virtue,  and  teaches  man  to  do  as  he  would  be 
done  by,  persons  teaching  it  or  professing  it  shall  alike  be  entitled 
to  the  protection  of  the  Chinese  authorities,  nor  shall  any  such, 
peaceably  pursuing  their  calling,  and  not  offending  against  the  law, 
be  persecuted  or  interfered  with,"  and  had  established  himself  at 
Yangchow.  It  was  never  denied  that  he  and  his  people  had  lived 
quietly  with  the  people,  and  the  only  charges  which  were  brought 
against  him  were  the  usual  groundless  accusations  that  he  and 
his  followers  were  in  the  habit  of  killing  children  and  of  using  their 
eyes  and  hearts  for  medicinal  purposes.  Ridiculous  as  these 
charges  were,  they  found  ready  acceptance  with  the  mob,  who,  far 
from  being  held  in  check  by  the  mandarins,  were  openly  encouraged 
by  them  in  their  demonstrations  against  the  foreigners.  A  Chinese 
mob  is  easily  aroused,  and  when  once  aroused  is  capable  of  great 
fury.  In  this  case  they  assaulted  the  missionaries,  burned  down 
their  houses,  and  drove  them  from  the  city.  An  immediate  demand 
for   reparation   was   made   by   Medhurst,   the   British   consul   at 


222  CHINA 

1870 

Shanghai,  who  required  that  the  local  mandarins  should  be  de- 
graded; that  certain  Literati,  who  had  instituted  the  riots,  should 
be  punished;  that  two  thousand  taels  should  be  paid  as  compen- 
sation for  the  wounded  and  ejected  missionaries ;  that  these  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel  should  be  officially  received  back;  and  that  a 
tablet  should  be  erected  on  which  should  be  inscribed  the  history 
of  the  riot,  with  a  declaration  that  foreigners  have  a  treaty  right 
to  visit  the  interior  of  the  empire.  At  this  time  Tseng  Kwofan, 
who  it  will  be  remembered  won  his  laurels  in  engagements  against 
the  T'aip'ings,  was  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces,  and  as 
soon  as  these  terms  were  referred  to  him  he  vetoed  the  demands 
for  the  punishment  of  the  Literati  and  for  the  erection  of  the  tablet. 
But  the  consul  and  the  British  minister  at  Peking,  Sir  Rutherford 
Alcock,  had  been  trained  in  the  pre-legation-at-Peking  system  of 
dealing  with  the  local  authorities,  and  with  the  full  permission  of 
his  chief,  the  consul,  quite  in  the  old  and  most  efficacious  manner, 
steamed  up  the  Yangtsze  with  a  small  naval  squadron,  and  anchored 
his  ships  opposite  the  walls  of  Nanking.  The  effect  was  instan- 
taneous, as  similar  demonstrations  have  always  proved  with  the 
Chinese,  and  every  condition  was  promptly  complied  with,  the  only 
modification  being  that  the  tablet  which  Medhurst  had  declared 
should  be  of  stone  was,  in  consideration  for  Tseng  Kwofan's  feel- 
ings, set  up  in  wood.  At  the  same  time  a  proclamation  was  issued 
in  which  the  local  authorities  were  held  up  to  reprobation,  the 
condign  punishment  of  the  ringleaders  was  announced,  and  the 
viceroyal  consent  was  given  to  the  other  terms  of  reparation  pro- 
posed. The  effect  of  this  judicious  treatment  of  the  emergency 
has  since  shown  itself  to  be  lasting  and  salutary,  and  Yangchow, 
from  having  been  one  of  the  most  anti-foreign  centers  in  the  em- 
pire, has  become  eminently  peaceable  and  law-abiding. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  anti-foreign  outbursts  which  have  so 
frequently  occurred  have  been  generally,  though  not  always,  ac- 
companied by  similar  riots  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Just 
about  this  time  anti-missionary  rebellions  took  place  in  Formosa,  at 
Swatow,  Foochow,  and  in  the  province  of  Szech'uan,  where  Pere 
Rigaud  was  unfortunately  murdered.  The  French  minister, 
Rochechouart,  went  personally  to  the  scene  of  the  last  outbreak,  and 
was  able  to  arrange  terms  satisfactory  to  the  government  which 
he  represented.  These  matters  were  scarcely  settled  when,  in  June, 
1870,  an  outbreak  of  more  than  usual  violence  occurred  in  Tientsin. 


Chapter    XII 

THE   LAST  YEARS   OF   T'UNGCHIH   AND   THE 
ACCESSION   OF  KWANGHSU.    1870-1895 

FOR  some  time  ill-will  had  been  manifested  toward  the 
Roman  Catholic  establishments  at  Tientsin,  and  more  espe- 
cially against  the  orphanage  which  had  been  established  by 
Sisters  of  Mercy;  and  at  the  end  of  May  an  epidemic,  which 
occurred  in  that  institution,  and  which  proved  especially  fatal, 
aroused  the  popular  feeling  to  frenzy.  There  has  always  been  a 
superstitious  belief  among  Chinamen  that  Europeans  are  in  the 
habit  of  using  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  deceased  infants  for  medicinal 
purposes,  and  the  numerous  deaths  which  occurred  at  this  time 
led  the  ignorant  townspeople  to  give  credence  to  the  folly.  So 
threatening  did  the  mob  become  that  the  Sisters  thought  it  wise 
to  offer  to  allow  a  committee  of  five  from  among  the  rioters  to  ex- 
amine the  premises.  How  far  this  concession  may  have  met  the 
necessities  of  the  case  it  is  difficult  to  say.  But  the  French  consul, 
deeming  it  an  unworthy  surrender  to  menace,  repaired  to  the 
orphanage  and  drove  the  committee  of  five  into  the  street.  Against 
this  summary  proceeding  the  Chinese  district  magistrate  strongly 
protested,  and  expressed  fear  that  unless  some  arrangement  were 
made  with  the  people  the  consequences  might  be  serious.  This 
threat  was  speedily  fulfilled,  and  on  June  21  a  surging  crowd 
assembled  around  the  orphanage.  The  French  consul,  recognizing 
the  stormy  outlook,  hurried  off  to  Chung  How,  the  Superintend- 
ent of  Foreign  Trade,  who  was  the  senior  native  authority  on 
the  spot,  and  urged  him  to  take  steps  to  quell  the  mob.  It  is  said 
that  the  consul  was  in  a  *'  state  of  excitement  bordering  on  in- 
sanity." But  however  that  may  be,  Chung  How  was  either  un- 
willing or  unable  to  act  as  demanded,  and  the  consul  made  his  way 
out  into  the  mob,  pistol  in  hand.  Accounts  vary  as  to  what  subse- 
quently happened.  Whether  he  fired  into  the  crowd  is  not  definitely 
known,  but  he  was  speedily  knocked  down  and  beaten  to  death. 
The  mob,  having  once  tasted  blood,  rushed  to  the  orphanage, 

223 


2«4i  CHINA 

1870 

where  they  murdered  the  unfortunate  Sisters,  after  inflicting  on 
them  all  kinds  of  nameless  barbarities.  They  then  set  fire  to  the 
buildings,  having,  however,  had  the  humanity  to  allow  the  children 
to  escape.  In  their  mad  fury  they  murdered  a  Russian  and  his 
young  bride,  whom  they  took  to  be  French,  and  who  were  trying 
to  make  their  escape  to  the  foreign  settlement.  In  all,  twenty  for- 
eigners were  killed,  and  as  many  more  Chinese  attendants.  This 
fiendish  massacre  was  doubtless  due  partly  to  ignorance,  but  prin- 
cipally to  the  appearance  at  this  time  of  a  work  entitled  "  Death 
Blow  to  Corrupt  Doctrines,"  which  describes  the  worship  of  the 
Christians  in  terms  nearly  identical  with  those  used  by  Gibbon  in 
his  history  of  the  early  persecutions  at  Rome.  In  the  passage  re- 
ferred to  Gibbon  states  that  the  Christians  "  were  regarded  as  the 
most  wicked  of  human  kind,  who  practiced  in  their  dark  recesses 
every  abomination  that  a  depraved  fancy  could  suggest,  and  who 
solicited  the  favor  of  their  unknown  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  every 
moral  virtue.  There  were  many  who  pretended  to  confess  or  to 
relate  the  ceremonies  of  the  abhorred  society."  Vigorous  protests 
were  made  to  the  Chinese  Government  against  the  continued  dis- 
tribution of  this  work  on  account  of  its  infamous  assertions,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  foreign  ministers  presented  a  united  demand 
for  the  punishment  of  the  ringleaders  of  the  riot,  both  official  and 
non-official,  and  for  compensation  for  the  murders  committed. 

At  this  time  Tseng  Kwofan,  who  had  been  promoted  from  the 
viceroyalty  of  the  two  Kiang,  to  the  same  position  in  the  metro- 
politan province,  was  residing  at  Paoting  Fu,  the  provincial  capital. 
By  imperial  decree  he  was  appointed,  together  with  Chung  How, 
to  inquire  into  the  circumstances  of  the  massacre.  But  Tseng  was 
getting  old,  and  the  strong  prejudice  which  he  had  always  exhibited 
against  foreigners  disinclined  him  to  take  any  active  steps  to  pun- 
ish the  perpetrators  of  the  atrocities.  Sir  Thomas  Wade,  who  at 
this  time  represented  England  at  Peking,  was  not  a  man,  however, 
tamely  to  submit  to  being  put  off  by  unsympathetic  officials,  and  on 
Tseng  showing  signs  of  dilatoriness,  he  addressed  a  remonstrance 
direct  to  Prince  Kung  in  these  terms :  "  As  to  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted, although  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  popular  exasperation, 
there  is  the  strongest  reason  to  doubt  that  the  destruction  of  the 
religious  establishments,  and  the  murder  of  their  occupants,  were 
exclusively  the  work  of  the  ignorant  multitude.  The  chief  actors 
in  the  affair  are  stated  to  have  been  the  fire  brigades,  and  the  banded 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  225 

1870 

villains  known  as  the  Hunsing  Tzu.  These  were  ready  for  the 
attack,  and  as  soon  as  the  gong  sounded,  fell  in,  provided  with 
deadly  weapons.  They  were  reinforced  by  soldiers  and  Yamen 
followers,  and  conspicuously  directed  by  a  man  with  the  title  of  Titu 
(major-general),  the  ex-rebel  Chen  Kwojui.  .  .  .  Yet  after 
more  than  seventy  days'  delay  what  has  been  done  toward  the  satis- 
faction of  justice?  Some  few  of  the  lower  class  of  criminals  have 
been  arrested,  the  more  important  of  these  not  having  been  discov- 
erable until  their  names  and  their  whereabouts  were  supplied  by 
the  French  legation.  The  guilty  magistrates  were  left  for  twenty 
days  after  the  massacre  at  their  posts,  their  energies  being  devoted 
throughout  that  period,  not  to  the  detection  of  persons  guilty  of  a 
share  in  the  crime,  but  to  the  examination  under  torture  of  un- 
fortunate Christians,  from  whom  it  was  hoped  that  confessions 
might  be  extorted  in  such  a  form  as  to  tell  favorably  for  their 
persecutors.  .  .  .  The  common  people,  seeing  no  punishment 
inflicted  on  anyone,  persuaded  themselves  that  the  massacre  was 
a  meritorious  act.  Songs  are  sung  in  honor  of  it,  and  paintings 
of  it  are  circulated  representing  officials  as  approving  spectators  of 
the  crime.  ...  I  must  add,  in  conclusion,  what  it  will  give 
your  Imperial  Highness  little  pleasure  to  read,  as  little  certainly 
as  to  myself  to  write ;  but  the  occasion  requires  that  I  should  speak 
out.  It  is  very  generally  believed  that,  although  your  Imperial 
Highness  and  the  wiser  of  your  colleagues  are  opposed  to  any 
policy  that  would  involve  a  rupture  with  foreign  powers,  there  are 
other  leading  men  in  China  whose  dream  is  the  expulsion  of  the 
Barbarian,  and  who,  if  they  were  not  the  immediate  instigators 
of  the  movement  of  June  21,  have  heartily  approved  its  atrocities; 
have  exerted  themselves  to  prevent  the  punishment  of  the  guilty 
parties,  official  and  non-official;  and  are  even  now  urging  on  the 
central  government  the  expediency  of  directing  a  like  murderous 
enterprise  against  all  foreigners  that  may  be  found  on  Chinese 
ground." 

This,  and  other  remonstrances  from  the  other  foreign  min- 
isters at  Peking,  at  length  compelled  the  government  to  take  action, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  was  generally  acknowledged  that  the 
continuance  of  Tseng  Kwofan  in  his  existing  post  stood  as  a  bar 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  foreign  demands.  It  so  happened  that 
at  this  juncture  the  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces  was  mur- 
dered by  a  fanatic  in  the  streets  of  Nanking,  and  the  opportu- 


226  CHINA 

1870 

nity  was  seized  upon,  therefore,  of  transferring  Tseng  to  this  thus 
vacated  office,  and  of  bringing  Li  Hung  Chang  from  Hukwang  to 
the  metropohtan  province.  "  We  command  Li  Hung  Chang,"  so 
ran  the  imperial  edict,  "  who  has  been  translated  to  the  viceroyalty 
of  Chihli,  to  proceed  post  to  Tientsin,  there,  in  concert  with  Tseng 
K  wo  fan.  Ting  Jihch'ang,  and  Cheng  Lin,  to  conduct  the  inquiry 
still  open,  and  take  the  necessary  action.  .  .  .  Respect  this." 
Though  thus  commanded  to  act  in  concert  with  his  colleagues,  a 
free  hand  was  practically  given  to  Li,  who  at  once,  taking  a  firm 
grip  of  the  situation,  gave  the  people  of  Tientsin  plainly  to  under- 
stand that  any  recrudescence  of  the  anti-foreign  agitation  would 
be  sternly  repressed.  Under  this  new  regime  the  investigations 
proceeded  apace,  with  the  result  that  the  prefect  and  district  magis- 
trate were  sentenced  to  banishment  to  Manchuria;  that  twenty 
of  the  rioters  were  condemned  to  death ;  and  that  twenty-one  were 
consigned  to  banishment.  It  is  always  difficult  to  estimate  the  real 
value  of  such  a  sentence  as  that  passed  on  the  culpable  officials. 
It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  in  response  to  foreign  pressure 
a  mandarin  is  removed  from  a  post,  and  ostensibly  degraded,  while 
in  fact  he  may  only  be  moved  to  an  office  of  greater,  honor  and 
emolument,  and  a  certain  amount  of  doubt  must  always  rest  on  the 
just  identification  of  rioters,  who  are  offered  up  on  the  execution 
ground  to  propitiate  outraged  foi"eign  feeling.  Cases  have  hap- 
pened of  prisoners,  who  have  been  condemned  for  other  crimes, 
being  executed  to  satisfy  the  numerical  balance  of  victims  to  be 
punished  for  murders  committed.  In  this  instance,  however,  no 
doubt  seems  to  have  arisen  about  the  g^Jilt  of  sixteen  of  the  male- 
factors, and  these  were  therefore  executed  on  October  i8,  1870. 
The  circumstances,  however,  which  attended  their  decapitation  were 
such  as  to  show  that  they  were  rather  regarded  as  martyrs  in  a 
holy  cause  than  as  criminals  guilty  of  heinous  crimes.  In  a  report 
to  Sir  Thomas  Wade  the  British  consul  thus  described  the  scene: 
**  About  two  hundred  police  and  soldiers  escorted  them  [the 
criminals]  from  the  jail  to  the  magistrate's  courtroom,  where 
they  were  marshaled,  sixteen  in  all.  None  of  them  would  kneel 
to  be  bound  when  ordered  to  do  so.  They  were  all  dressed  in  what  is 
everywhere  stated  to  be  a  government  present,  vis.,  new  silk  clothes, 
and  wore  on  their  feet  shoes  of  elegant  manufacture.  Their  hair  was 
dressed  after  the  female  fashion,  in  various  modes ;  and  ornaments 
such  as  those  seen  on  the  heads  of  Chinese  ladies  were  stuck  in  their 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  227 

1870 

head-dresses."  The  Russian  ambassador  not  being  satisfied  that  the 
four  men  charged  with  the  murder  of  his  compatriots  were  really 
guilty  of  the  crime  laid  to  their  charge,  secured  them  a  reprieve, 
which  resulted  in  two  being  sent  into  banishment,  and  the  remaining 
two  following  their  associates  to  the  execution  ground.  Subsequent 
inquiry  proved  that  the  sentence  on  the  prefect  and  magistrate  was 
of  the  illusory  nature  common  to  such  cases.  Instead  of  going  on 
a  weary  journey  to  Manchuria  they  were  allowed  to  return  to  the 
bosom  of  their  families,  where  no  doubt  they  received  the  ovations 
which  are  commonly  lavished  on  patriots. 

The  Titu,  Chen  Kwojui,  of  whom  Sir  Thomas  Wade  spoke, 
was  a  veritable  stormy  petrel.  His  career  had  been  checkered  by 
many  vicissitudes.  He  had  begun  life  as  a  T'aip'ing  rebel,  and  had 
deserted  the  banners  which  had  sheltered  him  for  the  imperial 
ranks  in  return  for  promotion  and  increased  pay.  His  hatred  of 
foreigners  amounted  almost  to  a  mania,  and  his  presence  in  the 
same  town  with  Europeans  was  invariably  the  precursor  of  riots 
and  disturbances.  It  is  said  that  an  accident  led  him  to  visit  Tien- 
tsin at  the  moment  of  the  outbreak  and  certain  it  is  that  he  led  on 
the  mob  to  the  attack.  Being  a  persona  grata  with  the  powers  at 
Peking,  he  was  carefully  shielded  from  all  harm,  and  the  utmost 
step  that  Sir  Thomas  Wade  could  persuade  the  Tsungli  Yamen  to 
take,  was  to  send  him  back  to  Nanking  and  there  to  place  him  un- 
der surveillance.  They  agreed,  however,  to  pay  the  sum  of  400,000 
taels  to  France  as  compensation  for  the  murder  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  and  consented  to  dispatch  Chung  How  on  a  special  embassy 
to  Paris  to  express  the  regret  of  the  government  for  the  murderous 
outbreak.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Chung  How  was  the  presid- 
ing mandarin  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  and  it  was  therefore 
peculiarly  fitting  and  proper  that  his  should  be  the  lips  to  utter  the 
apologies  and  regrets. 

The  excitement  which  had  been  stirred  up  in  connection  with 
the  missionary  question  by  these  events  was  by  no  means  confined 
to  Tientsin  and  the  neighborhood,  but  was  widely  spread  over 
many  parts  of  the  country.  Distinct  evidence  had  been  furnished 
that  this  unrest  was  fomented,  as  Sir  Thomas  Wade  had  pointed 
out,  by  some  of  the  highest  officers  of  state,  and  the  occasion  was 
characteristically  seized  upon  by  the  Tsungli  Yamen  to  attempt  to 
minimize  the  treaty  rights  as  regarded  the  teaching  of  Christianity. 
With  this  view  the  Yamen  drew  up  eight  articles  for  the  regulation 


^28  CHINA 

1870-1872 

of  missionary  undertakings,  and  inclosed  them  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  various  foreign  legations,  which  in  each  case  ran  as  follows : 

"  Sir  :  In  relation  to  the  missionary  question,  the  members 
of  the  Foreign  Office  are  apprehensive  lest  in  their  efforts  to  man- 
age the  various  points  connected  with  it,  they  should  interrupt  the 
good  relations  existing  between  this  and  other  governments,  and 
have  therefore  drawn  up  several  rules  upon  the  subject.  These 
are  now  inclosed,  with  an  explanatory  minute,  for  your  examina- 
tion, and  we  hope  that  you  will  take  them  into  careful  consid- 
eration." 

Sufficient  comprehensiveness  cannot  be  denied  to  these  eight 
articles,  which,  briefly  stated,  were  "  that  foreign  orphanages 
should  be  abolished;  that  women  should  not  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  churches,  nor  Sisters  of  Charity  to  live  in  China ;  that  mis- 
sionaries must  conform  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  China,  and  must 
submit  themselves  to  the  authority  of  the  Chinese  magistrates ;  that 
since  the  individuals  who  commit  disorders  ordinarily  belong  to  the 
lowest  class  of  the  people,  accusations,  in  case  of  riots,  must  not  be 
brought  against  the  Literati;  and  that  before  a  man  be  permitted 
to  become  a  Christian,  he  must  be  examined  as  to  whether  he  had 
undergone  any  sentence  or  committed  any  crime."  These  articles 
were  so  palpably  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  treaty,  that  the  min- 
isters one  and  all  declined  to  entertain  the  consideration  of  them 
for  a  moment,  and  matters  were  allowed  to  revert  to  the  status 
quo  ante.  The  Chinese  have  always  shown  themselves  singularly 
tolerant  of  faiths  other  than  their  own,  more  especially  when  the 
new  religions  are  professed  only  by  strangers  and  are  not  of  a 
proselytizing  nature.  They  have  allowed  Mohammedans  to  live 
in  their  midst  and  to  hold  offices  of  all  ranks,  without  imposing  on 
them  the  slightest  disability,  and  it  is  only  when  native  converts 
decline  to  fall  in  to  the  popular  customs,  and  to  take  part  in  the 
national  festivals  which  mark  the  seasons  of  the  year,  that  they 
come  into  collision  with  their  fellow  countrymen.  In  China,  as  in 
other  polytheistic  countries,  innumerable  deities  are  closely  inter- 
woven with  all  business  and  pleasure,  and  with  every  act  of  public 
and  private  life.  To  renounce  these  gods  and  goddesses  is  there- 
fore to  interfere  with  every  custom  and  practice  of  society.  It  is 
held  impossible  for  Christians  to  take  part  or  lot  in    any  matters 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  229 

1870-1872 

polluted  by  the  stain  of  idolatry,  and  with  holy  horror  they  de- 
cline to  subscribe  to  the  celebration  of  the  high  days  and  festivals 
which  are  kept  at  the  solstices,  the  opening  of  spring,  and  other 
public  holidays  in  the  year.  All  this  places  them  in  antagonism 
with  their  fellow  citizens.  But  the  mandarins  have  a  still  more 
definite  cause  of  complaint  when  native  Christians,  who  are  ac- 
cused of  crimes,  enlist  the  advocacy  of  the  missionaries  in  the 
native  courts.  The  existence  in  their  midst  of  congregations  which 
observe  rights  and  ceremonies  apart  from  those  practiced  by  the 
people  at  large,  gives  rise  to  much  ill-feeling,  and  one  can  only 
admire  the  courage  and  self-sacrifice  of  those  men  and  women  who, 
knowing  the  dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed,  devote  their  lives 
to  the  dissemination  of  the  doctrines  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  a 
hostile  population.  From  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  inevitable 
that  offenses  will  come,  and  so  long  as  Christianity  is  represented 
by  a  small  struggling  minority,  we  must  expect  persecutions  and 
troubles  to  arise. 

While  all  these  matters  were  disturbing  the  councils  of  the 
government,  the  emperor  was  growing  in  years,  and  in  1872  he 
had  reached  the  time  of  life  (sixteen)  when,  according  to  Chinese 
ideas,  he  should  take  to  himself  an  empress.  The  event  was  one  of 
momentous  national  importance,  and  vast  preparations  were  made 
to  secure  the  selection  of  a  fitting  consort  for  so  lofty  a  monarch. 
By  the  dynastic  rules  it  is  laid  down  that  the  empress  shall  always 
be  a  Manchu  by  race  and  the  daughter  of  a  member  of  one  of  the 
eight  military  banners.  Apart  from  these  conditions  there  is  noth- 
ing to  prevent  the  daughter  of  a  Manchu  private  from  being  raised 
to  the  "  Dragon  Throne."  Custom  forbids  that  an  imperial  bride- 
groom, any  more  than  bridegrooms  of  lower  degree,  should  even 
see  his  bride  before  the  wedding  night,  and  it  was  plainly  impos- 
sible, therefore,  that  His  Majesty  T'ungchih  should  take  any  per- 
sonal part  in  the  selection.  This  duty  devolved  by  necessity  on  the 
dowager  empresses,  and  in  their  zeal  for  the  emperor's  happiness 
they  threw  a  wide  net  over  all  the  eligible  young  ladies  in  the  coun- 
try. The  position  of  the  empress  has  so  many  disabilities  that  it 
is  not  sought  after  with  the  eagerness  that  might  be  expected,  and 
it  is  said  that  a  number  of  young  ladies  affect  a  limp,  or  a  hunch 
back,  or  some  other  deformity,  in  order  to  escape  the  imperial 
honor.  In  this  case,  however,  between  six  and  seven  hundred 
Manchu  maidens  were  brought  to  the  palace  for  the  empresses'  in- 


mo  CHINA 

1872 

spection.  By  a  process  of  elimination  these  great  ladies,  in  some 
weeks,  reduced  the  number  to  two,  and  finally  their  choice  fell  on 
a  young  lady  named  Ahluta.  The  father  of  this  damsel  was  a 
man  of  distinction,  having  taken  the  highest  literary  honors  ob- 
tainable at  the  competitive  examinations,  and  had  imparted,  so  it 
was  said,  some  of  his  learning  to  the  future  empress. 

As  soon  as  the  choice  was  made  preparations  were  begun  for 
the  ceremony,  and  as  a  preliminary  step  the  Astronomical  Board 
was  called  upon  to  determine  by  the  stars  the  day  and  hour  which 
would  present  the  most  felicitous  moment  for  the  august  union. 
Meanwhile,  in  preparation  for  the  duties  of  his  new  state,  four 
young  ladies,  known  as  professors  of  matrimony,  were  introduced 
into  the  emperor's  palace,  who,  as  was  generally  reported,  satis- 
factorily performed  their  vicarious  roles  until  the  arrival  of  Ahluta, 
The  midnight  of  October  i6,  1872,  was  the  time  chosen  for  the 
ceremony,  and  for  days  beforehand  countless  processions  passed 
from  the  bride's  home  to  the  palace  bearing  her  trousseau  and  be- 
longings. The  road  leading  to  the  palace  was  made  smooth,  and, 
to  mark  the  occasion,  was  thickly  covered  with  sand  of  the  imperial 
yellow  color.  On  the  day  preceding  the  wedding  high  officials  bore 
in  solemn  state  a  tablet  of  gold  constituting  Ahulta  empress,  to- 
gether with  a  scepter  and  a  seal,  which  they  presented  to  the  lady; 
and  at  the  hour  appointed  the  bridal  procession  left  for  the  palace 
attended  by  a  large  sprinkling  of  state  officials  with  escorts  and 
aides-de-camp.  As  it  was  essential  that  Ahulta  should  reach  the 
palace  at  the  exact  moment  prescribed  by  the  Astronomical  Board, 
a  member  of  that  learned  body  walked  by  the  side  of  the  bridal 
chair  with  a  burning  joss-stick  in  his  hand,  which  was  so  arranged 
as  to  mark  the  progress  of  time.  The  result  was  satisfactory,  and 
the  emperor  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  his  consort  neither  be- 
fore nor  after  the  felicitous  instant  which  had  been  proclaimed. 
Following  this  great  lady  came  four  other  young  maidens  who 
were  destined  to  play  the  part  in  the  imperial  harem  of  secondary 
wives  of  the  first  rank.  By  the  laws  of  the  empire  the  emperor  is 
entitled  to  fill  his  cup  of  felicity  with  four  ladies  of  the  first  grade, 
twenty-seven  of  the  second,  and  eighty-one  of  the  third.  T'ung- 
chih,  however,  contented  himself  with  the  first  arrivals,  and  prob- 
ably it  was  well  for  him  that  he  did  so. 

The  marriage  of  an  emperor  of  China  is  always  held  to 
announce  his  arrival  at  years  of  discretion,  and  is  therefore  equiva- 


T'UNGCHIH    AND    KWANGHSU  231 

1872-1873 

lent  to  coming  of  age  among  ourselves.  With  the  advent  of  an 
empress  to  share  his  throne  the  regency  disappears,  and  the  em- 
peror is  acknowledged  to  be,  theoretically,  a  fit  and  proper  person 
to  govern  his  immense  empire,  and  to  exercise  rule  over  his  four 
hundred  and  thirty-two  million  subjects.  Among  the  duties 
which  T'ungchih's  new  position  imposed  upon  him  was  that  of 
holding  communication  with  the  ministers  of  the  treaty  powers. 
This  obligation  his  father  had  accepted  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
of  1858,  but  by  his  judiciously  timed  retreat  to  Jehol  he  had  suc- 
cessfully avoided  carrying  it  out.  The  long  minority  of  T'ung- 
chih  had  further  placed  in  abeyance  the  question  of  imperial 
audiences — a  delay  for  which  the  Tsungli  Yamen  was  profoundly 
grateful.  The  question  had  always  been  a  thorny  one.  The  idea 
of  any  representative  of  a  foreign  state  entering  the  imperial  pres- 
ence without  striking  his  forehead  on  the  floor  was  so  preposterous 
in  the  eyes  of  the  mandarins  that  they  resisted  the  introduction  of 
all  discussion  on  the  subject  so  long  as  they  were  able.  But  the 
time  had  now  come  when  it  had  again  to  be  faced.  They  were 
perfectly  aware  that  the  k'ot'ow  would  have  to  be  given  up.  But 
though  thus  driven  from  their  first  entrenchment  they  were  pre- 
pared strenuously  to  defend  every  succeeding  line.  Lord  Macart- 
ney had  bent  the  knee  on  entering  the  presence  of  Ch'ienlung. 
They  pleaded,  therefore,  that  foreign  ministers  should  follow  this 
notable  example.  The  foreign  ministers,  however,  pointed  to  the 
treaty,  in  which  it  was  laid  down  that  no  minister  "  should  be  called 
upon  to  perform  any  ceremony  derogatory  to  him  as  representing 
the  sovereign  of  an  independent  nation  on  a  footing  of  equality 
with  that  of  China,"  and  explained  that  to  bend  the  knee  would 
obviously  be  to  perform  a  derogatory  ceremony.  This  answer 
was  conclusive,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that  whenever  it  should 
please  the  emperor  to  grant  an  audience  to  the  foreign  ministers 
they  should  be  expected  only  to  bow  thrice  on  entering  the  im- 
perial presence. 

In  June,  1873,  the  emperor  was  moved  to  receive  the  minis- 
ters in  solemn  audience.  It  was  reported  at  the  time  that  this 
determination  was  mainly  due  to  curiosity  on  the  part  of  T'ung- 
chih,  who  was  desirous  of  seeing  what  sort  of  men  the  envoys 
were  who  had  come  from  so  great  a  distance  to  his  court;  But 
however  that  may  be,  on  the  15th  of  the  month  an  edict  appeared, 
couched  in  the  following  terms :    "  The  Tsungli  Yamen  having 


232  CHINA 

1873 

presented  a  memorial  to  the  effect  that  the  foreign  ministers  resid- 
ing in  Peking  have  implored  us  to  grant  an  audience  that  they 
may  deliver  letters  from  their  governments,  we  command  that 
the  foreign  ministers  residing  in  Peking,  who  have  brought  letters 
from  their  governments,  be  accorded  audience.  Respect  this."  The 
tone  of  this  decree  was  not  of  hopeful  augury.  There  was  a  dic- 
tatorial and  discourteous  air  about  it  which,  whether  due  to  ignor- 
ance or  impertinence,  was,  to  say  the  least,  unfortunate.  Its  ap- 
pearance, however,  put  the  Tsungli  Yamen  in  a  flutter,  and  for  ten 
days  a  brisk  discussion  was  carried  on  with  the  legations  as  to 
the  etiquette  which  was  to  be  observed  on  the  occasion. 

In  a  land  such  as  China,  where  etiquette  is  the  very  breath 
of  the  nostrils  of  the  officials,  any  modification  in  ceremonial  prac- 
tice, however  trifling  it  may  appear  to  Europeans,  is  regarded  as 
being  of  vital  importance.  The  mandarins  had  been  obliged  to 
yield  the  points  of  the  k'ot'ow  and  the  genuflexion,  but  there  still 
remained  to  them  the  possibility  of  humiliating  the  ministers  by 
inducing  them  to  make  their  bows  in  a  hall  where  it  is  customary 
for  the  emperor  to  receive  the  envoys  of  tributary  states.  This 
hall,  the  Tzukwang  Ko,  or  "  Pavilion  of  Purple  Light,"  is  situated 
outside  the  palace,  and  is,  as  the  native  guide-books  tell  us,  the 
place  where  New  Year  receptions  are  granted  to  the  outer  tribes, 
and  where  wrestling  and  military  exercises  are  performed  for  the 
amusement  of  the  emperor.  All  this  must  have  been  perfectly  well 
known  to  the  foreign  ministers,  who  were,  however,  so  elated  at 
the  idea  of  entering  the  presence  of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven  "  that 
they  agreed  to  accept  the  slur  implied  by  the  choice  of  the  building. 
The  day  fixed  for  the  ceremony  was  June  29,  and  the  time  deter- 
mined by  the  emperor  was  the  very  inconvenient  hour  of  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  Etiquette  entailed  upon  the  ministers  the  neces- 
sity of  being  in  readiness  even  still  earlier.  On  arriving  at  the 
palace  grounds  the  six  ministers,  representing  England,  France, 
America,  Russia,  the  Netherlands,  and  Japan,  were  escorted  to  the 
"  Palace  of  Seasonableness,"  a  temple  in  which  the  emperor  is 
accustomed  to  pray  for  rain.  Here  light  refreshments  were  offered, 
and  after  half  an  hour  had  been  wasted  in  the  consumption  of  con- 
fectionery and  tea  the  envoys  were  conducted  to  a  large  tent  pitched 
near  the  "  Pavilion  of  Purple  Light."  A  delay  of  an  hour  and 
a  half  was  here  endured,  and  at  last  the  Japanese  ambassador,  in 
virtue  of  his  ambassadorial  rank,  was  summoned  to  the  presence. 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  233 

1873 

As  soon  as  this  official  was  dismissed  the  Western  ministers  were 
admitted  into  the  hall,  at  the  end  of  which  T'ungchih  was  discov- 
ered, seated  cross-legged,  after  the  Manchu  fashion,  on  a  raised 
dais  surrounded  by  princes  and  ministers  of  state.  In  accordance 
with  the  prearranged  programme,  the  ministers  advanced  bowing, 
and  an  address  in  Chinese  having  been  read  Prince  Kung  fell  on 
his  knees  and  went  through  the  form  of  receiving  the  return  mes- 
sage vouchsafed  by  the  emperor.  Charged  with  the  weighty  words 
of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  he  rose  and  descended  the  steps  from  the 
dais  with  his  arms  extended  in  imitation  of  the  way  in  which  Con- 
fucius, that  great  master  of  ceremony,  used  to  practice  leaving 
the  presence  of  his  sovereign  as  though  in  a  state  of  agitation  and 
alarm.  The  ministers  then,  having  placed  their  letters  of  credence 
on  the  table  which  stood  before  his  imperial  majesty,  made  their 
bows  and  retired. 

The  whole  history  of  this  ceremony,  like  that  of  most  of  our 
dealings  with  the  Chinese,  is  a  signal  example  of  the  glamor  which 
the  Celestials  have  ever  succeeded  in  throwing  over  their  preten- 
sions in  the  eyes  of  the  Western  world.  The  chief  blot  in  the 
policy  of  certain  countries  prior  to  the  Japanese  war  had  been  the 
half-concealed  admission  that  they  were  in  China  purely  on  benevo- 
lent sufferance.  In  their  relations  with  the  mandarins  they  had  in 
all  cases  been  the  -suppliants,  and  the  Chinese  the  dispensers  of 
privileges.  Their  haughty  attitude  of  stand-off-wardness  has  in 
these  circumstances  had  its  effect,  and  communications  with  them 
have  been  too  often  marked  by  undue  deference.  The  attitude  of 
the  various  governments  toward  Li  Hung  Chang  during  his  recent 
visit  was  an  instance  in  point.  Neither  his  official  position  nor  his 
private  character  entitled  him  in  any  way  to  the  adulation  which 
was  shown  him,  and  which  he,  after  the  manner  of  Orientals,  re- 
paid by  acts  of  grave  discourtesy.  Nevertheless,  these  last  were 
entirely  overlooked  by  a  mistaken  consideration,  and  he  doubtless 
departed  to  his  native  land  satisfied  that  his  countrymen  were  cor- 
rect in  holding  that  the  countries  of  Europe  were  but  hangers-on 
to  the  imperial  bounty  of  the  "  Son  of  Heaven  "  and  his  ministers. 
That  the  reception  of  the  foreign  ministers  by  T'ungchih  was  a 
step  in  the  right  direction  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  it  is  also  plain 
that  a  mistake  was  made  in  consenting  to  accept  the  "  Pavilion  of 
Purple  Light  "  as  the  scene  of  the  ceremony.  The  remark  made  by 
a  member  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen  to  one  of  the  foreign  ministers. 


234  CHINA 

1872-1873 

that  "  The  princes  who  waited  on  the  emperor  had  been  surprised 
and  pleased  at  the  demeanor  of  himself  and  his  colleagues,"  effec- 
tively displayed  the  patronizing  attitude  which  the  mandarins  chose 
to  adopt  on  the  occasion. 

Though  for  the  nonce  the  foreign  relations  of  the  empire  were 
at  this  time  peaceful,  the  internal  affairs  of  the  country  were  far 
from  being  undisturbed.  The  rebellion  which  had  decimated  the 
province  of  Yunnan  for  so  many  years  had  been,  it  is  true,  brought 
to  a  conclusion  by  the  surrender  of  Tali  Fu.  But  the  country  was 
left  desolate.  The  ravages  of  both  the  insurgents  and  the  imperial 
forces  had  robbed  the  surviving  wretched  inhabitants  of  everything 
that  makes  life  worth  having,  while  disease  and  famine  carried 
off  thousands  of  those  who,  as  by  a  miracle,  had  survived  the  sword. 
In  response  to  an  appeal  from  the  distressed  country  the  emperor 
remitted  all  the  taxes  due  up  to  date,  and  by  gifts  of  land  and  other 
inducements  attempted  to  entice  yeomen  from  the  neighboring 
provinces  to  take  up  the  deserted  farms.  The  success  of  these  ef- 
forts was  only  partial,  and  to  this  day  the  province  bears  traces  of 
the  iron  heel  of  the  Mohammedans.  In  the  northwestern  provinces 
of  Kansu  and  Shensi  legislative  endeavors  were  made  to  restore  to 
those  districts  some  glimpses  of  their  former  prosperity,  and  it  is 
amusing  to  find,  in  the  light  of  recent  experience,  that  the  military 
authorities  could  suggest  nothing  better  for  the  preservation  of 
the  peace  of  the  provinces  than  that  the  army,  which  had  apparently 
been  allowed  to  revert  to  civil  life,  should  be  mustered  again  and 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows.  Not  only,  however,  had  the  troops 
become  disorganized,  but  according  to  the  literary  chancellor  of 
the  viceroyalty,  the  civil  population  was  suffering  demoralization 
from  the  suspension  of  the  competitive  examinations,  and  with  all 
the  weight  of  his  authority  he  went  on  to  recommend,  in  the  pages 
of  the  Peking  Gazette,  that  these  should  be  resumed,  and,  if  this 
should  be  done,  he  did  "  not  despair  of  the  Book  of  Poetry  having 
its  duly  mollifying  effect  on  the  manners  of  the  people."  The  same 
implicit  faith  in  the  humanizing  tendency  of  this  ancient  work  was, 
according  to  the  same  periodical,  held  at  this  time  by  the  governor 
of  Canton,  who  suggested  that  a  dissemination  of  its  classic  verses 
would  be  a  fit  and  proper  remedy  for  the  clan  fights  which  were 
in  1873  disturbing  the  peace  of  his  province. 

While  these  matters  were  claiming  the  attention  of  the  im- 
perial government  a  dispatch  from  Li  Han  Chang,  a  brother  of 


» 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  235 

1873-1874 

Li  Hung  Chang,  announced  the  outbreak  of  a  rebellion  in  Hunan, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Yellow  River,  "  China's  Sorrow,"  burst 
its  banks  and  flooded  thousands  of  square  miles  of  territory. 

Before  the  year  closed  a  cloud  arose  on  the  Eastern  sea  which 
seriously  threatened  a  foreign  war.  Japan  had  long  had  griev- 
ances against  her  huge  neighbor,  and  like  other  foreign  powers 
had  found  unassisted  diplomacy  inadequate  to  extract  the  repara- 
tion which  was  due.  On  repeated  occasions  shipwrecked  Japanese 
sailors  had  been  cruelly  put  to  death  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Island  of  Formosa.  For  these  outrages  the  Chinese  declared  them- 
selves unable  to  make  any  compensation,  or  to  apply  any  remedy. 
In  these  circumstances  the  Japanese  landed  a  force  on  the  island, 
and  dispatched  a  special  envoy  to  Peking  to  make  a  final  attempt 
at  arriving  at  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty.  In  presence 
of  these  energetic  measures  the  Chinese  were  disposed  to  yield,  but 
they  did  so  with  an  ill  grace.  They  admitted  their  liability  but 
declined  to  name  any  fixed  sum  which  should  be  paid,  or  any 
date  as  to  when  it  should  become  due.  This  attitude  was  so  emi- 
nently unsatisfactory  that  the  Japanese  envoy  had  no  other  course 
to  pursue  than  to  prepare  to  leave  Peking,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
taking  his  departure  when  Sir  Thomas  Wade  intervened  as  a 
mediator  between  the  disputants,  and  prevented  a  breach  of  the 
peace  by  making  himself  personally  responsible  for  the  payment  of 
the  500,000  taels  demanded  by  the  Japanese. 

It  is  always  difficult  to  determine  whose  is  the  power  behind 
the  throne  which  directs  political  events  in  China.  In  the  early 
days  of  T'ungchih's  accession  to  power  it  was  commonly  reported 
that  he  was  inclined  to  resent  the  imposition  of  the  leading  strings 
by  which  the  dowager  empresses,  and  his  ministers,  attempted  to 
direct  his  course.  Rumors  were  even  afloat  that,  like  another 
Haroun-al-Raschid,  it  was  his  wont  to  escape  from  the  palace  at 
night  time  and  wander  through  the  city  that  he  might  become  ac- 
quainted at  first  hand  with  the  actual  condition  of  his  subjects. 
It  was  said  that  Prince  Kung's  influence  was  particularly  distaste- 
ful to  him,  and  the  people  of  the  capital  were,  therefore,  not  much 
surprised  when  an  edict  appeared  degrading  that  prince  for  the  use 
of  "  language  in  very  many  respects  unbecoming  "  to  his  imperial 
kinsman.  That  this  degradation  was  fiercely  resented  by  the  em- 
presses is  proved  by  the  fact  that  on  the  very  next  day  a  decree 
appeared  under  their  signatures  manual,  reinstating  the  prince  in 


236  CHINA 

1874-1875 

his  hereditary  rank  and  honors.  It  would  appear  from  this  that 
the  emperor  had  resisted  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
by  the  dowager  ladies,  and  that  when  they  insisted,  had  "  saved  his 
face  "  by  throwing  the  responsibility  of  the  measure  upon  them. 
In  fact  at  this  period  there  was  as  little  peace  inside  the  palace 
walls  as  there  was  in  the  outlying  provinces  of  the  empire.  No 
secrets  are  allowed  to  escape  beyond  the  pink  walls  of  the  palace, 
and  it  is  only  possible  to  guess  at  much  that  goes  on  within  those 
sacred  precincts  by  the  announcements  which  are  officially  pro- 
mulgated. Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1874  an  edict  appeared  in 
the  Peking  Gazette  stating  that  the  emperor  was  "  happily  "  ill 
with  an  attack  of  small-pox,  and  an  effusively  dutiful  decree  was 
thereupon  published  in  his  name,  in  which  he  besought  the  dowager 
empresses  to  undertake  in  their  "  overflowing  benevolence "  the 
administration  of  the  empire  during  his  illness.  For  some  days 
the  imperial  patient  was  said  to  be  progressing  favorably,  and 
honors  were  heaped  on  the  physicians  who  had  charge  of  his  case. 
But  the  good  effected  by  these  learned  men  was  only  temporary.  A 
turn  for  the  worse  set  in,  and  on  January  12,  1875,  he  became 
"  a  guest  on  high." 

This  event  gave  rise  to  one  of  those  palace  intrigues  which 
are  common  in  Eastern  countries.  As  has  been  indicated  the 
dowager  empresses  had  on  many  occasions  found  the  young  em- 
peror a  refractory  pupil,  and  they  were  naturally  desirous  of  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  them  of  regaining 
the  control  of  affairs,  which  custom  had  compelled  them  to  give  up 
when  T'ungchih  took  to  himself  an  empress  and  proclaimed  his 
majority.  The  one  obstacle  in  their  way  was  the  now  widowed 
empress  who,  as  was  well  known,  might  possibly  give  birth  to  an 
heir  to  the  throne.  In  such  a  case  she  naturally  would  have  become 
the  regent  during  her  son's  minority,  and  this  the  elder  ladies  de- 
termined to  put  beyond  the  range  of  possibility.  With  a  total  dis- 
regard of  the  regulations  ordering  the  imperial  succession,  they, 
without  any  delay,  set  about  making  a  choice  of  an  heir  to  T'ung- 
chih. There  were  two  candidates  for  this  distinguished  honor. 
One  was  the  son  of  Prince  Kung,  who  had  arrived  at  years  of  dis- 
cretion, and  the  other  was  Tsait'ien,  the  infant  son  of  Prince  Ch'un. 
Prince  Kung's  son  was  naturally  the  one  who  should  have  been 
chosen  as  being  the  eldest  son  of  the  eldest  uncle  of  the  late  em- 
peror.    But  in  the  eyes  of  the  dowager  empresses  there  were  two 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  237 

1875 

fatal  objections  to  his  candidature.  He  was  of  age,  and  therefore 
would  have  supreme  control  of  affairs,  and,  besides,  his  accession 
would  have  necessitated  the  retirement  of  Prince  Kung,  who  could 
not,  in  accordance  with  the  Chinese  ideas  of  filial  piety,  have  served 
under  his  son.  Neither  of  these  objections  were  prominent  in  the 
case  of  Tsait'ien,  who  was  barely  four  years  old,  and  whose  suc- 
cession to  the  throne  would  give  a  new  lease  of  power  to  the  in- 
triguing ladies.  His  father  also,  not  having  taken  any  public  part 
in  political  life,  would  have  no  office  to  vacate.  Tsait'ien,  there- 
fore, was  chosen,  and  by  a  pious  fiction,  common  to  Chinese  prac- 
tice, he  was  adopted  as  the  son,  not  of  T'ungchih,  but  of  the  pre- 
ceding emperor,  Hsienfeng.  But  Ahluta  still  remained,  and  it 
did  not  surprise  those  who  had  watched  the  course  of  events  to 
hear  that  the  poor  lady  had  been  seized  with  illness  which  in  a  few 
days  proved  fatal,  and  she  died  on  March  29,  1875.  It  suited 
nobody's  purpose  to  inquire  too  closely  into  the  nature  of  the 
malady  which  had  so  conveniently  removed  a  political  difficulty, 
and  certain  it  is  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  dowager 
empresses'  attitude  toward  her  when  alive,  she  had  no  sooner 
passed  into  the  shades  than  they  lavished  encomiums  upon  her. 
The  pages  of  the  Peking  Gazette  were  filled  with  her  good  deeds, 
and  by  common  consent  the  posthumous  title  was  conferred  upon 
her  of  "  The  filial,  wise,  excellent,  yielding,  chaste,  careful,  vir- 
tuous, and  intelligent  Queen  I,  who  governed  her  actions  by  the 
laws  of  heaven,  and  whose  life  added  luster  to  the  teachings  of 
the  sages." 

Meanwhile  strangely  demonstrative  decrees  were  issued  under 
the  signature  of  the  infant  emperor  proclaiming,  in  all  the  fanci- 
ful verbiage  of  the  East,  his  imaginary  grief  at  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  and  belauding  the  virtues  which  he  chose  to  attribute 
to  him.  "  Prostrate  upon  the  earth,"  he  wrote,  "  we  bewail  our 
grief  to  Heaven,  vainly  stretching  out  Our  hands  in  lamentation." 
It  now  only  remained  to  choose  an  imperial  epithet  for  the  infant 
"  Son  of  Heaven,"  and  in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  forms 
a  number  of  complimentary  titles  were  submitted  for  selection  to 
Tsait'ien,  who  is  supposed  to  have  chosen  the  designation  of 
Kwanghsii  or  "  The  Succession  of  Glory." 

One  of  the  grievances  which  the  dowager  empresses  had 
against  T'ungchih  was  that  by  a  laxity  of  administration  he  had 
allowed    the   palace    eunuchs   to    assume    functions    and    exercise 


238  CHINA 

1875 

powers  to  which  they  were  in  no  wise  entitled.  One  of  the  first 
acts  of  the  regents,  therefore,  was  to  put  these  assuming  courtiers 
in  their  proper  places.  Seven  of  the  principal  offenders  were  con- 
sequently put  on  their  trial,  with  the  result  that  three  were  trans- 
ported to  the  Amur,  there  to  act  as  slaves,  and  four  others  were 
severely  bastinadoed.  These  salutary  lessons  brought  these  pests 
of  the  palace  to  their  bearings. 

To  those  on  the  spot  who  had  followed  the  course  of  current 
events  in  China  it  was  obvious  that,  since  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty,  there  had  been  rather  a  decrease  than  an  increase  in  the 
friendly  feeling  toward  foreigners  on  the  part  of  the  officials.  In 
fact,  since  the  establishment  of  the  legations  at  Peking  there  had 
been  a  marked  change  in  a  hostile  direction,  and  though  the  Chi- 
nese Government  professed  friendly  feelings  toward  the  treaty 
powers,  there  were  not  lacking  signs  of  a  settled  intention  on 
the  part  of  even  the  most  highly  placed  officials  to  restrict  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty  so  far  as  possible.  Before  the  death  of 
T'ungchih,  it  had  been  arranged  that  the  viceroy  of  India  should 
send  an  expedition  via  Bhamo,  in  Burma,  into  Yunnan,  for  the 
purpose  of  opening  commercial  relations  with  that  district.  In 
December,  1874,  the  members  of  the  mission  arrived  at  Mandalay, 
and  as  soon  as  their  arrangements  were  complete,  started  for 
Bhamo.  To  further  the  success  of  the  undertaking  it  was  deter- 
mined to  send  Margary,  one  of  the  Chinese  consular  service,  who 
besides  being  a  good  Chinese  scholar  was  a  thoroughly  capable 
man,  to  meet  the  expedition  at  Bhamo.  On  his  way  from  Shanghai 
to  the  western  frontier  he  met  with  every  civility  from  the  local 
mandarins,  and  eventually  joined  hands  with  Colonel  Browne  at 
Bhamo,  on  January  26,  1875.  After  some  delay,  during  which 
reports  had  reached  Bhamo  that  a  Chinese  force  was  collecting  in 
the  mountain  passes  to  bar  the  passage  of  the  expedition.  Colonel 
Browne's  party  started  eastward.  By  the  light  of  his  experience 
en  route  from  Shanghai,  Margary  considered  the  rumor  of  opposi- 
tion to  be  unworthy  of  credit,  and  with  the  consent  of  Colonel 
Browne,  went  ahead  of  the  expedition  to  inquire  exactly  into  the 
condition  of  affairs.  On  February  19  he  arrived  without  difficulty 
at  Manwyne,  a  town  within  the  Chinese  frontier,  where  he  was 
hospitably  received  by  the  officials.  On  the  following  day  he  was 
invited  to  visit  a  mineral  spring  in  the  neighborhood,  and  while 
on  this  excursion  he  was  savagely  assaulted  and  murdered.    At  the 


i 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  239 

1875 

same  time  a  Chinese  force  attacked  Colonel  Browne's  party.  These 
assailants  were  beaten  off  without  much  difficulty,  but  the  murder 
of  Margary,  and  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  people,  determined 
Colonel  Browne  to  give  up  any  thought  of  proceeding  further,  and 
he  returned  to  Bhamo. 

So  soon  as  the  news  of  this  outrage  reached  Peking,  Sir 
Thomas  Wade  made  strong  remonstrances  at  the  Tsungli  Yamen, 
and  insisted  that  a  joint  commission  of  English  and  Chinese  offi- 
cials should  proceed  to  the  spot  to  investigate  the  circumstances  of 
the  murder.  But  the  Tsungli  Yamen  was  in  a  more  than  usually 
obstructive  mood,  and  for  months  Sir  Thomas  Wade's  demands 
were  met  with  consistent  prevarications  and  delay.  When  no  un- 
employed subterfuge  for  shelving  the  question  at  issue  remained 
to  them,  they,  in  quite  their  approved  manner,  named  a  Taot'ai 
of  inferior  position  as  the  colleague  of  Grosvenor,  the  designated 
secretary  of  legation,  in  the  commission  of  inquiry.  Sir  Thomas 
Wade  refused  to  accept  this  appointment  on  the  ground  of  the 
comparatively  mean  rank  of  the  officer  nominated,  and  finally  in- 
duced Prince  Kung  and  his  colleagues  to  appoint  in  his  stead  Li 
Han  Chang,  the  viceroy  of  the  two  Hu  provinces.  This  was  only 
the  preliminary  difficulty  to  be  overcome,  for  Li,  imitating  the 
conduct  of  his  superiors,  required  two  months  to  make  his  prepara- 
tion for  the  journey.  But  everything  must  come  to  an  end,  even  a 
Chinaman's  delays,  and  eventually  the  commission  arrived  at  Man- 
wyne  and  opened  proceedings. 

Meanwhile  Sir  Thomas  Wade  put  forward  seven  demands  to 
the  Chinese  Government,  which  he  considered  should  be  satisfied 
before  there  could  be  any  reasonable  possibility  of  bringing  the 
matter  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  The  first  of  these  had  refer- 
ence to  improving  the  condition  of  diplomatic  intercourse  at 
Peking;  the  second  to  the  enlargement  of  trading  facilities;  the 
third  to  the  provision  of  a  sufficient  escort  to  Grosvenor ;  the  fourth 
to  the  promise  of  an  escort  for  another  mission  from  India;  the 
fifth  to  requiring  the  Viceroy  Ts'en  to  state  how  it  happened  that 
nearly  six  months  after  the  murder  of  Margary  no  definite  infor- 
mation concerning  it  had  reached  the  Yamen;  the  sixth  to  insist- 
ing that  a  minister  should  be  sent  to  England  to  express  the  re- 
gret of  the  Chinese  Government  at  the  outrage;  and  the  seventh 
to  demanding  that  the  decree,  directing  the  appointment  of  this 
minister  to  England,  should  be  published  in  the  Peking  Gazette. 


240  CHINA 

1875 

To  the  first  of  these  the  Tsungli  Yamen  returned  a  characteristic 
answer.  The  ministers  stated  it  was  not  customary  for  Chinese 
officials  who  were  not  charged  with  the  management  of  foreign 
affairs  to  hold  intercourse  with  foreigners,  "  and  it  consequently 
behooves  them,"  they  added,  "  not  to  be  in  relations  with  the  foreign 
representatives  at  Peking."  They  declined  also  to  send  a  mission 
of  apology,  and  added  "  that  it  was  not  open  to  the  servants  of 
his  Majesty  the  emperor  to  make  suggestions  regarding  his  de- 
crees." At  this  time  Sir  Thomas  Wade  was  at  Tientsin  and  had 
used  Li  Hung  Chang  as  an  intermediary  with  the  government. 
The  course  which  the  proceedings  now  took,  however,  was  so  emi- 
nently unsatisfactory  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  return  to 
Peking,  and  was  on  the  point  of  departure  when  the  following 
laconic  imperial  decree  was  brought  to  his  notice.  "  Let  Li  Hung 
Chang  and  Ting  Jihch'ang  negotiate  respecting  the  Margary  affair 
with  the  British  minister,  Mr.  Wade,  at  Tientsin."  This  edict  ap- 
peared to  constitute  Li  a  plenipotentiary,  and  Sir  Thomas  Wade 
was,  therefore,  not  unnaturally  surprised  when  the  Tsungli  Yamen 
subsequently  declined  to  endorse  certain  concessions  made  by  their 
representative,  and  further  announced  at  the  same  time  "  that  it  did 
not  follow  that  what  his  Excellency  Li  might  guarantee  at  Tientsin 
should  be  given  effect  to  at  Peking." 

The  position  of  affairs  in  Yunnan  was  in  every  way  as  unsat- 
isfactory as  the  course  of  the  negotiations  at  Peking.  Every  ob- 
stacle was  put  in  the  way  of  the  English  commissioner,  and  it  was 
rendered  quite  impossible  for  him  to  arrive  at  the  true  conclusion 
of  the  matter  by  the  withholding  of  much  important  evidence,  and 
by  the  obtrusion  of  other  so-called  testimony  which  was  absolutely 
valueless.  It  was  plainly  the  intention  of  the  supreme  authorities 
to  shelter  the  Viceroy  Ts'en  from  all  blame  in  the  matter.  This 
man's  record  was  bad,  and  was  blood-stained  with  every  species  of 
cruelty.  During  the  suppression  of  the  Mohammedan  rebellion  in 
the  province  he  had  sent  to  the  execution  ground  hecatombs  of 
victims,  and  in  the  opinion  of  all  unprejudiced  observers,  it  was 
plain  that  in  this  case  he  was  primarily  responsible  for  the  murder. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  get  any  witnesses  to  give  evidence  against 
him.  Men  who  were  in  close  relations  with  him  professed  to  know 
nothing  of  his  attitude  in  the  matter,  while  at  the  same  time  they 
gave  voluble  testimony  against  a  number  of  men  of  a  border  tribe, 
who  were  as  far  from  their  cognizance  as  Ts'en  was  near.     Of 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU 


241 


1875-1876 

only  one  official  had  they  a  word  of  disparagement  to  say.  This 
was  Colonel  Li  (Li  Sieht'ai),  who  had  begun  life  as  a  brigand,  who 
had  then  turned  rebel,  and  who  had  eventually  transferred  his  valu- 
able services  to  the  provincial  authorities.  By  all  accounts  this  was 
the  man  who  led  the  troops  which  opposed  Colonel  Browne's  party. 

So  thoroughly  unsatisfactory  were  the  results  thus  obtained, 
that  Sir  Thomas  Wade  refrained  to  press  for  the  punishment  of 
the  accused,  and  finally  despairing  of  arriving  at  a  satisfactory  ar- 
rangement with  so  tortuously-minded  a  government  as  that  at 
Peking,  hauled  down  his  flag,  and  took  ship  for  Shanghai.  This 
step  seriously  alarmed  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and  after  some  nego- 
tiations Sir  Thomas  Wade  agreed  to  meet  Li  Hung  Chang  at 
Chifu  (Chefoo)  to  discuss  the  terms  of  a  settlement.  The  result 
of  the  discussions  which  ensued  was  the  Chifu  Convention,  which 
after  having  been  unconfirmed  for  twelve  years  was  at  last  ratified. 

One  result  of  these  long-drawn-out  negotiations  was  that  a 
permanent  Chinese  minister  was  sent  to  the  Court  of  St.  James's. 
The  choice  of  the  first  envoy  plenipotentiary  was  an  eminently  for- 
tunate one.  Kwo  Sungtao  had  had  relations  with  foreigners  in 
China,  and  was  possessed  of  a  conciliatory  and  courteous  de- 
meanor. Gladstone  once  said  of  him,  "  he  was  the  most  genial 
Oriental  whom  he  had  ever  met,"  and  during  his  tenure  of  the 
legation  in  Portland  Place,  international  matters  went  smoothly 
and  well.  While  the  foreign  relations  of  the  empire  had  thus  been 
disturbed,  the  attention  of  both  officials  and  people  at  Peking  had 
been  absorbed  by  the  details  of  the  funerals  of  the  late  emperor  and 
empress.  Vast  preparations  were  made  for  the  august  ceremony, 
and  it  was  determined  that  both  the  young  emperor  and  the 
dowager  empresses  should  follow  the  cortdge  to  the  imperial 
mausolea  in  the  eastern  mountains.  The  sudden  and  unaccounted- 
for  death  of  Ahluta  had  agitated  the  Pekingese  not  a  little, 
and  one  censor,  more  bold  than  the  rest,  took  upon  himself 
to  suggest  that  an  extra  title  of  honor  should  be  conferred  upon 
her  late  Majesty  in  commemoration  of  her  many  virtues.  This 
was  regarded  as  an  implied  censure  by  the  dowager  empresses, 
who  issued  an  angry  decree  in  response  declaring  the  suggestion 
to  be  absurd,  and  ordering  the  unfortunate  censor  to  be  severely 
punished.  On  October  i6,  1875,  the  funeral  cortege  left  Peking, 
and  on  the  25th  the  emperor  returned  to  his  capital.  More  than 
usual  magnificence  was  lavished  on  the  procession  and  accompany- 


M2  CHINA 

1874-1875 

ing  ceremonies.  The  coffins  were  each  carried  by  a  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  bearers,  who  were  relieved  sixty  times  during  the 
day ;  and  the  cost  incurred  amounted  to  1 89,000  taels. 

These  imperial  dead  were  scarcely  laid  to  rest  in  the  costly 
tombs  raised  to  their  memory,  when  their  unhappy  country,  which 
was  just  recovering  from  the  effects  of  wars  and  disturbances, 
was  afflicted  with  one  of  the  most  severe  famines  which  have  been 
known  in  the  recent  history  of  the  world.  Over  a  large  portion  of 
the  north  of  China,  consisting  of  an  area  as  large  as  France,  there 
lies  a  deep  deposit  of  the  geological  formation  known  as  loess. 
This  formation  consists  of  a  light  friable  soil,  and  covers  the  coun- 
try to  the  depth  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more,  leveling  up  the  valleys 
and  bringing  low  the  hills.  In  favorable  seasons  when  rains  are 
frequent  and  temperate,  the  crops  grown  on  the  loess  are  full 
and  generous.  It  is  only  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  scratch  the 
surface  and  sow  his  seed.  Manure  is  unnecessary,  and  the  usual 
succession  of  rich  crops  which  are  commonly  yielded  has  earned 
for  the  district  the  name  of  the  "  Garden  of  China."  But  all  this  fer- 
tility depends  on  the  fall  of  sufficient  rain  and  snow.  In  seasons 
when  the  clouds  refuse  their  moisture,  the  winds  which  prevail 
blow  away  the  surface  soil,  and  leave  the  seed  grain  exposed  to  the 
desiccating  influences  of  the  sun  and  wind.  It  is  these  conditions 
which  afford  a  substantial  reason  for  the  prayers  which  are  offered 
up  by  the  emperor  in  person  in  seasons  of  summer  drought  and 
when  the  winter  coating  of  snow  is  persistently  withheld. 

During  the  years  1874- 1875  there  had  been  a  marked  de- 
ficiency of  moisture,  a  want  which  was  further  intensified  in  the 
following  year,  and  which  ultimately  ended  in  rendering  absolutely 
sterile  the  seed  sown  by  the  farmers.  The  results  were  disastrous 
in  the  extreme.  With  such  imperfect  means  of  communication  as 
the  Chinese  possess,  it  is  impossible  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  one 
district  by  the  superfluities  of  others  with  sufficient  speed  to  pre- 
vent the  occurrence  of  famine.  Over  the  four  provinces  of  Chihli, 
Shansi,  Honan,  and  Kansu,  a  dire  scarcity  prevailed,  and  though 
every  effort  was  made,  both  by  foreigners  and  natives,  to  bring  aid 
to  the  starving  people,  upward  of  nine  million  perished  before  suc- 
ceeding crops  supplied  food  for  the  survivors.  In  this  emergency 
Li  Hung  Chang  succeeded  in  collecting  as  much  as  289,394  taels, 
and  a  foreign  relief  committee  at  Shanghai  was  able  to  hand  over 
204,560  taels  to  provide  grain  for  the  unfortunate  sufferers.     It 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  243 

1875 

is  illustrative  of  the  deeply-grained  dishonesty  which  pervades 
China  that,  even  in  the  presence  of  such  a  fearful  calamity,  the 
peculating  tendencies  of  native  officials  remained  too  strong  to  be 
overcome.  In  these  circumstances  Li  Hung  Chang  set  a  worthy 
example,  and  reported  a  number  of  his  subordinates  who  had  been 
taken  red-handed  in  intercepting  the  monies  subscribed  for  the 
purchase  of  grain.  These  men  were  severely  punished,  and  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  know  that  one  agent,  who  had  mixed  alum  with  the 
flour  which  he  distributed  in  such  proportions  as  to  make  it  un- 
eatable, met  with  exemplary  punishment. 

Li,  who  always  had  a  keen  eye  for  business  profits,  made 
large  use  of  the  vessels  of  the  China  Merchant  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  of  which  he  was  the  promoter,  for  the  conveyance  of 
the  grain  to  the  famine  districts,  and  the  result  was  undoubtedly 
satisfactory.  But  the  bad  roads  and  imperfect  conveyances  made 
the  transport  of  the  grain  from  the  ports  to  the  inland  localities  a 
matter  of  serious  difficulty.  The  prominence  which  was  thus  given 
to  the  faulty  native  means  of  intercommunication,  brought  once 
more  to  the  front  the  question  of  introducing  railways  into  the 
country.  Already  a  small  company  of  foreign  merchants  had,  with 
the  permission  of  the  viceroy  of  the  two  Kiang  provinces,  con- 
structed a  line  from  Shanghai  to  Wusung,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  For  a  time  all  things  went 
smoothly  with  the  new  venture.  The  line  was  popular  with  the 
people,  who  crowded  the  carriages  to  such  an  extent  that  some 
would-be  passengers  were  left  behind  on  almost  every  railway  plat- 
form. But  though  it  quickly  secured  the  favor  of  the  people,  its 
success  was  gall  and  wormwood  to  the  Literati,  to  whom  any  for- 
eign innovation  is  anathema.  Confucius  laid  it  down  that  his  coun- 
trymen should  not  accept  any  new  devices  from  abroad,  and  with 
curious  pertinacity  the  students  of  what  is  known  as  the  Confucian 
literature  have  steadily  adhered  to  his  advice.  Life  is  not  counted 
as  being  of  much  value  in  China,  and  when  it  became  known  that 
it  would  be  a  convenience  to  the  official  classes  if  a  man  were  run 
over  and  killed,  the  event  at  once  took  place.  This  supplied  the 
well-known  Chinese  device  in  such  cases  of  a  demand  of  a  life  for 
a  life.  A  reference  to  the  Consular  Court  naturally  disposed  of 
this  preposterous  proposition.  Another  means  had  therefore  to  be 
employed  to  arrive  at  the  same  end.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 
get  up  a  riot  in  China,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  appeal 


2U  CHINA 

1876 

of  the  Literati  to  the  people  would  meet  with  its  usual  success.  So 
serious  did  affairs  become  under  the  influence  of  these  mischief- 
makers  that  the  viceroy  was  obliged  to  intervene,  and  the  matter 
was  referred  for  decision  to  Sir  Thomas  Wade  and  Li  Hung 
Chang,  who  at  the  time  were  negotiating  the  Chifu  Convention. 

Li  disclaimed  all  administrative  power  in  the  matter,  and, 
in  face  of  the  opposition  which  had  been  roused.  Sir  Thomas  Wade 
recommended  that  the  trains  should  cease  to  run  until  a  decision 
should  be  arrived  at.  Events  in  which  foreigners  were  implicated 
had  in  those  days  a  tendency  to  develop  in  one  direction.  This 
was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  and  after  much  discussion,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  Chinese  should  become  owners  of  the  railway  by 
purchase.  This  sealed  its  fate,  the  rails  were  at  once  ruthlessly 
torn  up,  and  were  exported  to  the  Island  of  Formosa,  where  they 
were  allowed  to  rot  on  the  seashore.  The  practical  utility  of  rail- 
ways is  so  palpable  that  Li,  in  common  with  all  men  of  intelli- 
gence, had  always  fully  recognized  their  advantage,  and  being  at 
the  time  interested  in  the  development  of  some  coal  mines  within 
his  jurisdiction,  he  proposed  to  make  a  line  to  connect  these  pits 
with  Tientsin  and  Taku.  The  district  through  which  this  line  was 
to  run  was  sparsely  inhabited,  and  was  entirely  free  from  the  pres- 
ence of  obstructive  scholars.  Li's  influence,  however,  was  sufficient 
to  have  overcome  any  opposition  which  might  have  existed,  but  as 
none  appeared,  no  difficulty  arose  in  the  construction  of  the  line 
which  still  carries  coal  between  K'aip'ing  and  the  sea,  to  the  in- 
finite advantage  of  the  province.  The  object  lesson  taught  by  this 
railroad  has  not  been  lost  on  the  natives  of  the  locality,  and  for 
a  long  time  the  only  lines  which  existed  in  the  empire — one  from 
Taku  to  Peking,  and  the  other  a  continuation  of  the  K'aip'ing  line 
to  Shanhaikwan — were  in  this  immediate  neighborhood. 

In  so  vast  an  empire  as  China,  with  so  many  feudatory  states 
owing  allegiance  to  her,  it  can  seldom  be  that  complete  peace  reigns 
within  her  territories.  A  rebellion  which  broke  out  in  Annan  at 
this  time  was  put  down  after  some  difficulty  with  the  assistance  of 
Chinese  troops,  and  later  the  court  of  Peking  was  disturbed  by 
the  news  of  a  serious  outbreak  in  Korea.  Japan  had  already 
opened  diplomatic  intercourse  with  that  country,  and  had  claimed, 
as  she  always  had  done,  suzerainty  over  it.  At  this  time,  as  has 
not  uncommonly  happened  in  the  annals  of  that  unhappy  country, 
Korea  was  a  house  divided  against  itself.     The  king  who  still 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  245 

1876-1882 

reigns  is  a  well-meaning  man,  but  without  sufficient  character  to 
give  effect  to  his  good  intentions  in  the  face  of  opposition.  He  also 
suffered  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  witnessed  during  a  long 
minority  his  father  rule,  or  rather  misrule,  in  the  country.  This 
man's  external  policy  had  been  consistently  anti-foreign.  He  had 
successfully  opposed  attempts  made  by  French  and  American  ex- 
peditions to  enter  the  country,  and  when  at  length  he  handed  over 
the  reins  of  power  to  his  son,  he  attempted  to  direct  his  successor's 
policy  on  the  lines  which  he  himself  had  followed.  Finding,  how- 
ever, that  his  son  was  unwilling  to  accept  his  guidance  in  these 
matters,  he  used  all  his  arts  of  intrigue  to  carry  his  points.  He  had 
bitterly  opposed  the  Japanese  Treaty,  and  finding  the  king  obdurate 
on  the  question,  he  determined  to  effect  by  violence  that  which  he 
could  not  gain  by  argument.  At  his  instigation  an  attack  was 
made  on  the  Japanese  legation  at  Seoul,  and  so  fierce  was  the  as- 
sault that  the  Japanese,  after  defending  the  building  so  long  as 
it  was  tenable,  sallied  out  against  the  mob,  and  fought  their  way 
to  the  seacoast,  where  they  found  shelter  and  protection  on  board 
a  British  gunboat.  The  ex-regent  T'aiwen  Kun  was  now  supreme. 
The  young  king  was  made  a  prisoner,  and  the  queen  was  only  saved 
from  assassination  by  the  devotion  of  one  of  her  ladies  who  met 
death  in  her  stead.  On  receipt  of  the  news  of  this  outrage  Li 
Hung  Chang,  who  was  ordered  by  an  imperial  edict  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand,  dispatched  an  official  named  Ma  with  a  fleet  of 
ironclads  to  suppress  the  riots,  while  at  the  same  time  the  Japanese 
Government  reestablished  their  legation  with  the  support  of  a 
strong  escort. 

It  was  plain  to  Li,  and  to  his  lieutenant  Ma,  that  so  long  as 
the  ex-regent  was  at  liberty  to  plot  and  intrigue,  peace  was  im- 
possible. They  determined,  therefore,  that  it  was  for  the  good  of 
the  country  that  he  should  be  deported  for  a  while.  The  kidnap- 
ing of  officials  in  such  circumstances  is  not  an  unusual  practice 
in  the  East,  and  Ma  was  only  acting  after  the  manner  of  his  coun- 
trymen when,  having  invited  the  T'aiwen  Kun  to  an  entertainment 
on  board  his  ship,  he  steamed  off  to  China  with  his  unsuspecting 
visitor.  On  the  arrival  of  this  Korean  plotter  on  Chinese  soil  an 
imperial  edict  was  issued  ordering  that  he  should,  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  life,  "  live  at  peace  at  Paoting  Fu  in  Chihli.  .  .  . 
Let  the  governor  general  of  Chihli,"  so  ran  on  the  document, 
"  continue  bountifully  to  afford  him  such  support  as  his  rank  de- 


246  CHINA 

1882 

mands,  and  strictly  keep  watch  over  him,  that  thus  a  cause  of  trou- 
ble and  calamity  to  Korea  may  be  removed,  and  the  breach  of  the 
laws  of  kindred  toward  the  prince  of  that  kingdom  be  healed." 

Meanwhile  Japan  had  made  demands  for  compensation  for 
the  insult  offered  to  her  flag  in  the  attack  on  the  legation  at  Seoul. 
Five  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  claimed  as  an  indemnity  for 
the  cost  of  the  expedition;  a  new  treaty  port  was  insisted  on;  and 
it  was  required  that  a  mission  of  apology  be  sent  to  Japan  to 
satisfy  the  amour  propre  of  the  Mikado's  Government.  Being  ab- 
solutely powerless  to  refuse  consent  to  these,  or  any  other  condi- 
tions, the  Korean  Government  readily  yielded  all  that  was  asked. 

For  some  time  Li  Hung  Chang  and  those  who  acted  with  him 
had  observed  with  growing  anxiety  the  advances  which  Japan  had 
been  making  in  the  equipment  of  her  army  and  navy,  and  in  1882 
a  secret  memorial  was  presented  to  the  throne  by  Chang  Peilun,  de- 
tailing the  reforms  which  were  being  introduced  into  the  Japanese 
army,  and  urging  that  it  was  the  duty  of  "  our  empire  to  check  in 
time  threatening  evil  from  Japan,  and  to  establish  definitely  the 
supremacy  of  China  over  its  neighbor."  Chang  was  careful,  how- 
ever, to  explain  that  an  invasion  of  Japan  would,  in  existing  cir- 
cumstances, be  a  hazardous  undertaking,  and  he  very  reasonably 
advocated  the  necessity  of  adding  strength  to  the  forces  and  forti- 
fications of  the  empire.  Li,  to  whom  this  and  other  memorials  of 
a  similar  kind  were  referred,  advised  caution,  as  was  his  wont,  and 
summed  up  his  recommendations  in  these  words :  "  It  is  above  all 
things  necessary  to  strengthen  our  country's  defenses,  to  organize 
a  powerful  navy,  and  not  to  undertake  aggressive  steps  against 
Japan  in  too  great  a  hurry." 

We  have  seen  the  miserable  figure  which  the  Chinese  forces 
cut  in  their  late  encounter  with  Japan,  and  if  it  is  possible  to 
imagine  a  greater  disproportion  of  strength  than  was  then  dis- 
played, it  would  have  been  found  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak. 
For  years  the  Japanese  had  been  organizing  their  army  on  the 
European  model,  and  had  armed  their  troops  with  the  newest  wea- 
pons invented  at  Elswick  and  by  Krupp;  while  the  Chinese  soldiers, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  body  enlisted  by  Li,  were  still  trust- 
ing in  their  bows  and  arrows  and  in  the  scarcely  more  effective 
jingals.  In  accordance  with  Li's  advice  the  trial  of  strength  was 
postponed,  and  if  his  subsequent  counsel  had  been  followed  the  bat- 
tles of  1894  and  1895  would  never  have  been  fought. 


I 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  247 

1858-1884 

But  though  the  Chinese  Government  was  successful  in  avoid- 
ing a  war  with  Japan,  it  was  unable  to  escape  complications 
which  ended  in  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  with  France  in  connec- 
tion with  affairs  in  Tongking.  For  many  years  the  French  Gov- 
ernment had  had  relations  with  Annam,  which,  however,  had  never 
been  carried  on  in  any  other  than  an  intermittent  fashion  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  changes  and  chances  of  home  politics.  French 
missionaries  had  with  indefatigfable  zeal  attempted  to  introduce 
the  knowledge  of  Christianity  among  the  Annamese,  and  conse- 
quent persecutions  had  from  time  to  time  broken  out  which  had 
not  unfrequently  ended  in  the  massacre  of  the  foreign  priests.  In 
this  desultory  and  unsatisfactory  manner  relations  were  maintained 
until  1858,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  the  king  to 
carry  out  the  terms  of  a  treaty  negotiated  so  far  back  in  1787, 
the  French  fleet  destroyed  the  forts  of  Tourane  and  captured  the 
town  of  Saigon.  At  this  last-named  city  they  established  them- 
selves, and  when,  after  the  war  of  1870,  the  enthusiasm  for  a 
colonial  empire  became  so  pronounced  in  France,  they  used  it  as 
a  base  from  which  to  attempt  to  extend  their  influence  over  the 
neighboring  province  of  Tongking.  One  or  two  expeditions, 
which  were  rather  of  the  nature  of  filibustering  adventures,  were 
sent  against  Hanoi,  the  capital  of  the  province,  and  gained  tem- 
porary success.  Annam,  including  Tongking,  had  for  centuries 
been  a  feudatory  state  of  China,  and  had  acknowledged  fealty  by 
dispatching  at  regular  intervals  tributary  missions  to  Peking.  As 
in  duty  bound,  the  king  on  this  occasion  reported  to  his  liege  lord 
the  efforts  which  the  French  were  making  to  gain  possession  of  his 
northern  province,  and  rather  than  risk  a  rupture  Li  Hung  Chang, 
as  the  Chinese  representative,  agreed  in  response  to  hand  over  to 
France  that  portion  of  the  country  which  was  south  of  the  Songkoi 
River.  We  have  already  seen  that  Li's  recommendations  were  not 
always  accepted  at  Peking,  and  on  this  occasion,  both  in  that  capi- 
tal and  in  Paris,  the  conditions  proposed  were  peremptorily  re- 
jected. For  ten  years  matters  remained  in  this  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition; the  French  being  ever  aggressive  and  the  Annamese  doing 
their  utmost  by  force  and  by  intrigue  to  oppose  the  advance  of  the 
invaders.  At  length,  in  1884,  the  important  towns  of  Sontay  and 
Bacninh  were  threatened  by  French  armies.  The  garrisons  of  these 
cities  were  mainly  composed  of  Chinese  troops,  and  the  Marquis 
Tseng,  who  represented  China  at  Paris  at  the  time,  was  instructed 


CHINA 

1884 

to  inform  the  French  Government  that  China  would  regard  an 
attack  on  those  positions  as  an  act  of  war. 

This  threat,  however,  proved  to  be  utterly  unavailing,  and, 
in  defiance  of  the  Marquis's  warning  the  two  cities  were  attacked 
and  occupied  by  the  French.  It  has  never  been  the  practice  of  the 
Chinese  Government,  until  the  outbreak  of  the  recent  war  with 
Japan,  to  make  a  formal  declaration  of  war,  and  as  the  French 
saw  no  necessity  for  going  through  that  formality,  the  two  coun- 
tries, while  contending  in  the  field,  remained  diplomatically  at 
peace.  In  Peking  a  strong  party,  headed  by  Li  Hung  Chang,  were 
desirous  of  coming  to  terms  with  the  enemy  while  they  were  in  the 
way  with  him,  and  the  dowager  empresses  took  occasion  to  em- 
phasize their  sympathy  with  the  peace  party  by  issuing  a  decree 
depriving  "  Prince  Kung  and  several  other  ministers  of  all  their 
offices,  and  imposing  condign  punishment  upon  all  who  were  re- 
sponsible for  the  failure  in  Tongking."  In  these  circumstances 
Detring,  a  member  of  the  China  Customs  Service,  was  encouraged 
to  suggest  the  opening  of  negotiations  between  Captain  Fournier, 
of  the  French  navy,  and  Li  Hung  Chang.  Both  parties  being 
favorably  disposed  toward  the  conclusion  of  peace,  terms  were 
readily  arrived  at,  and  a  convention  was  eventually  signed  between 
the  two  plenipotentiaries.  By  this  instrument  it  was  agreed  that 
France  should  respect,  and,  in  case  of  need,  protect  the  southern 
frontier  of  China,  which  separates  that  country  from  Tongking, 
and  at  the  same  time  China  undertook  to  withdraw  at  once  all  her 
troops  from  Tongking. 

Unfortunately  for  the  permanence  of  the  peace  proposed  by 
this  treaty,  the  plenipotentiaries  had  omitted  to  name  the  date  at 
which  the  Chinese  troops  were  to  be  withdrawn,  and,  as  it  after- 
ward turned  out,  the  two  contracting  parties  held  different  views 
on  this  very  important  subject.  Li  was  under  the  impression  that 
it  had  been  arranged  that  the  movement  should  take  place  at  the 
end  of  three  months;  Fournier,  on  the  other  hand,  believed  that 
three  weeks  was  the  limit  allowed.  Neither  date,  however,  seems 
to  have  been  mentioned  to  Colonel  Dugenne,  the  commander  of  the 
troops  in  the  neighborhood  of  Langson,  when  notice  was  sent  him 
of  the  conclusion  of  peace.  With  the  impatience  of  a  new  pos- 
sessor, therefore,  he  marched  toward  the  town,  and  on  arriving 
at  a  defile  some  distance  from  the  city  he  was  met  by  a  considerable 
Chinese  force  drawn  up  to  oppose  his  advance.     When  he  de- 


T»UNGCHIH    AND    KWANGHSU  249 

1884-1885 

manded  a  passage  through  the  lines  of  this  hostile  array,  three 
mandarins  came  forward,  and,  explaining  that  they  had  had  no  in- 
timation of  the  suspension  of  hostilities,  demanded  time  that  they 
might  communicate  with  the  commanding  officer  at  Langson. 
Dugenne  interned  these  men  as  hostages,  and  then  professed  his 
willingness  to  wait  for  the  required  reference.  By  some  misad- 
venture the  zephyrs,  or  criminal  corps  of  the  army,  opened  fire 
upon  the  Chinese,  and  brought  about  an  engagement.  Two  of  the 
hostages,  perceiving  the  mistake,  attempted  to  ride  back  to  their 
army  to  stop  the  fighting.  Their  intention,  however,  being  mis- 
understood, they  were  both  shot,  while  the  third  met  the  same  fate 
by  the  discharge  of  a  pistol.  The  action  now  became  general,  and 
the  French  were  completely  defeated.  Their  losses  were  heavjf 
both  in  men  and  in  baggage,  and  the  troops  would  have  been  en- 
tirely overwhelmed  had  it  not  been  for  the  gallant  action  of  a  body 
of  Chasseurs  d'Afrique,  who  checked  the  pursuing  Chinamen. 

This  misadventure  gave  rise  to  mutual  recriminations  between 
the  two  negotiators  of  the  convention.  Captain  Fournier  averred 
that  he  had  agreed  with  Li  as  to  the  dates  on  which  the  fortresses 
were  to  be  given  up,  while  Li  asserted  that  when  he  protested 
against  the  impossibly  short  time  named.  Captain  Fournier  had  run 
his  pen  through  the  clauses  in  dispute.  In  defense  of  his  conduct 
Fournier  wrote  to  Ferry,  affirming  upon  his  honor  that  he  had 
neither  canceled  nor  evaded  any  of  the  dates  and  stipulations  of 
the  note  handed  to  Li  Hung  Chang.  In  opposition  to  this  very 
categorical  statement,  Ma,  the  captor  of  the  Taiwen  Kun  of  Korea, 
and  Lo  Fenglu,  later  minister  to  England,  signed  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  North  China  Herald,  in  which  they  stated  that 
they  "  saw  with  their  own  eyes  Captain  Fournier  with  his  own 
hand  make  the  said  erasures  and  put  his  initials  thereto." 

After  these  events  peace  became  impossible,  and  both  in 
Tongking  and  Formosa  the  French  again  began  operations.  In 
the  former  province  General  Negrier  took  the  field,  and  with  some 
difficulty  captured  the  stronghold  of  Langson  on  February  13,  1885, 
while  Admiral  Courbet  attacked,  though  unsuccessfully,  Kelung, 
on  the  northern  coast  of  Formosa.  Finding  his  efforts  there  to  be 
unavailing  the  admiral  steamed  across  to  Foochow.  Of  this  in- 
tended movement  the  Chinese  had  notice,  but  Chang  P'eilun,  of 
whom  mention  has  already  been  made,  and  who  was  commanding 
at  Foochow  at  the  time,  entirely  disregarded  the  intimation.    With 


250  CHINA 

1885 

a  certain  disingenuousness  Admiral  Courbet,  on  the  plea  that  war 
had  not  been  declared,  steamed  by  the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Min  River,  and  anchored  among  the  Chinese  fleet  in  rear  of  the 
defenses.  Secure  in  his  position,  Courbet  demanded  the  imme- 
diate surrender  of  the  fleet  and  forts,  and  on  this  being  refused, 
opened  fire  on  the  Chinese  ships  as  they  lay  at  anchor.  In  seven 
minutes  the  destruction  of  the  Chinese  vessels  was  complete,  and  the 
harbor  was  full  of  wreckage  and  drowning  sailors.  Between  the 
natives  of  the  provinces  of  Kwangtung  and  Fuhkien  there  has 
always  been  a  standing  feud,  and  the  horrors  of  the  situation  were 
increased  on  this  occasion  by  the  fact  that  as  the  Kwangtung 
sailors  scrambled  up  to  the  shore  they  were  murdered  by  their 
Fuhkien  countrymen.  So  complete  was  the  disaster  that  it  might 
fairly  be  considered  impossible  that  even  a  Chinaman  could  have 
described  it  otherwise  than  as  a  defeat.  But  Chang  P'eilun  was 
equal  to  the  occasion,  and  with  splendid  mendacity  reported  to  the 
throne  that  he  had  gained  a  complete  victory  over  the  French, 
and  had  sunk  several  of  their  ships.  The  facts,  however,  which 
immediately  transpired  were  too  plain  to  make  any  such  statement 
credible,  and  Chang  P'eilun  escaped  execution  by  accepting  trans- 
portation to  the  frontier.  Being  a  protege  of  Li  Hung  Chang,  his 
exile  was  only  temporary,  and  before  long  he  returned  to  marry 
Li's  daughter,  and  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  management  of 
his  patron's  concerns. 

After  his  exploit  in  the  Foochow  harbor  Admiral  Courbet, 
after  having  made  five  unsuccessful  attacks  on  the  forts  near  Ke- 
lung,  at  length  succeeded  in  taking  them  in  March,  1885,  and  fur- 
ther occupied  the  Pescadores.  In  Tongking,  however,  the  French 
cause  was  not  so  successful.  A  system  of  guerrilla  warfare,  while 
it  failed  to  bring  glory  to  the  Tricolor,  had  an  exhausting  effect  on 
the  troops,  and  it  was  found  necessary  in  April  to  evacuate  Langson. 
Both  sides  were  now  heartily  tired  of  the  war,  and  the  Tsungli 
Yamen  was  relieved  to  hear  from  Sir  Robert  Hart  that  the  negotia- 
tions which  they  had  authorized  him  to  carry  on  with  France  had 
been  brought  to  a  successful  issue.  The  announcement  of  this  wel- 
come conclusion  of  peace  was  made  by  Sir  Robert  Hart  in  the 
enigmatic  fashion  so  much  affected  by  the  Chinese.  Sir  Robert 
called  one  day  at  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  and,  addressing  the  ministers, 
said :  "  Nine  months  ago  you  authorized  me  to  open  negotiations 
for  peace,  and  now "    "  The  baby  is  born,"  said  the  ministers 


UENtKAL    NEGRIER     ATTACKING    THE     SIRONGHOLD    OF    LANGSUN, 

FEBRUARY     I3,     1885 

Painting   hy   E.   Detaillt 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  251 

1885 

before  he  could  proceed  further.  "  Yes,"  said  Sir  Robert,  "  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  are  arranged."  Congratulations  followed, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  details  of  the  treaty  should  be  left  to 
the  consideration  of  Li  Hung  Chang  and  the  French  minister, 
Patenotre,  at  Peking.  On  June  9,  1885,  the  treaty  was  signed  by 
these  plenipotentiaries,  and  it  is  eminently  confirmatory  of  Li's 
prescience  that  after  a  year's  conflict,  which  had  cost  his  country 
60,000,000  taels  and  the  loss  of  the  Foochow  fleet,  the  Chinese 
Government  had  been  willing  to  accept  terms  almost  identical  with 
those  which  he  had  arranged  with  Fournier  in  the  preceding  year. 

Meanwhile  disturbances  had  again  broken  out  in  Korea.  Not- 
withstanding the  imperial  assertion  that  the  transportation  of  the 
Taiwen  Kun  was  to  be  for  life,  he  was,  in  a  moment  of  weakness, 
allowed  to  return  to  his  native  country.  The  result  of  this  manu- 
mission was  disastrous.  He  found  on  his  return  to  his  familiar 
haunts  that  the  king  had  in  his  absence  introduced  extensive  re- 
forms, and  among  others  a  postal  system  modeled  on  European 
lines.  To  this  and  all  other  innovations  he  was  as  ever,  determined 
to  offer  strenuous  opposition,  and,  by  skillful  intrigue,  he  so  con- 
trived that  on  the  occasion  of  a  dinner  given  to  celebrate  the  in- 
auguration of  the  new  post  office,  a  band  of  rebels  was  introduced 
into  the  banqueting  hall,  who  attempted  to  lay  violent  hands  on 
the  king.  For  some  days  fighting  in  the  capital  continued  between 
the  two  contending  parties,  the  reformers  and  the  reactionists,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  hostilities  a  determined  attack  was  made  on  the 
Japanese  legation,  when  for  the  second  time  the  minister  and 
his  staff  had  to  fight  their  way  to  the  coast.  In  response  to  this 
outrage,  and  in  defense  of  their  national  honor,  the  Japanese  landed 
a  force  at  Chemulpo,  the  port  of  Seoul;  while  at  the  same  time 
a  Chinese  army  entered  the  Korean  capital.  The  situation  of  1882 
was  thus  repeated,  and,  as  on  that  occasion,  it  seemed  only  too 
probable  that  the  two  protecting  powers  would  be  drawn  into  a  war. 
Happily  the  danger  was  averted,  and  negotiations  between  the  two 
states  were  entered  upon  at  Tientsin,  Count  Ito  representing  Japan 
and  Li  Hung  Chang  China. 

After  considerable  discussion  a  convention  was  signed  by  which 
it  was  agreed  that  both  China  and  Japan  should  withdraw  their 
troops  from  Korea  within  four  months  of  the  date  of  the  signature 
of  the  treaty;  that  the  King  of  Korea  should  be  invited  to  in- 
struct and  drill  a  sufficient  armed  force  to  assure  the  public  security 


252  CHINA 

1886 

of  the  kingdom ;  and  that  "  in  case  of  any  disturbance  of  a  grave 
nature  occurring  in  Korea,  which  may  oblige  the  respective  coun- 
tries or  either  of  them  to  send  troops  to  Korea,  it  is  hereby  under- 
stood that  they  shall  give,  each  to  the  other,  previous  notice  in 
writing  of  their  intention  so  to  do,  and  that  after  the  matter  is 
settled  they  shall  withdraw  their  troops  and  not  further  station 
them  in  the  country."  This  last  clause  is  worthy  of  attention,  as 
it  was  the  infringement  of  it,  or  alleged  infringement  of  it,  on 
the  part  of  China,  which  led  to  the  outbreak  of  the  recent  war 
with  Japan. 

The  war  with  France  which  had  lately  been  brought  to  a  close, 
and  the  threatened  hostilities  with  Japan,  awoke,  for  a  moment,  at 
Peking  a  desire  to  strengthen  the  forces  of  the  country.  Ships 
were  added  to  the  navy,  and  advice  poured  in  from  censors  and 
others  as  to  the  best  means  of  protecting  the  empire  against  foreign 
foes.  A  board  of  admiralty  was  instituted  of  which  Prince  Ch'un, 
the  father  of  the  emperor,  was  made  first  lord,  and  so  seriously  did 
he  regard  his  position  that  in  the  summer  of  1886  he  took  the  un- 
precedented step  of  leaving  the  capital  to  inspect  the  fleet  and 
arsenals  at  Tientsin  and  Port  Arthur.  Under  this  new  naval 
administration  Captain  Lang,  of  the  British  navy,  was  appointed  ad- 
miral of  the  northern  fleet,  which  by  that  curious  system  of  decen- 
tralization which  prevails  in  China  was  alone  placed  under  the 
control  of  Prince  Ch'un  and  his  colleagues,  the  southern  fleet,  with 
its  headquarters  at  Foochow,  being  administered  by  the  local  pro- 
vincial magnates.  This  curious  arrangement  led  to  some  strange 
results  in  the  recent  war  with  Japan.  At  Wei-hai-wei,  when  the 
Chinese  fleet  surrendered,  a  ship  of  the  southern  squadron  hap- 
pened by  chance  to  be  among  them.  The  captain  of  this  vessel, 
not  in  the  least  understanding  why  he  should  be  held  a  prisoner 
when  his  presence  with  the  northern  fleet  had  been  the  result  of  an 
accident,  represented  his  case  to  the  Japanese  admiral,  and  requested 
that  he  and  his  ship  should  be  released,  as  otherwise  he  might  fall 
under  the  censure  of  his  superiors! 

The  year  1886  was  a  busy  year  in  foreign  politics,  more  espe- 
cially so  far  as  relations  with  Great  Britain  were  concerned.  At 
this  time  King  Thebaw's  misdoings  had  led  to  British  occupation 
of  Upper  Burma,  a  territory  over  which  China  claimed  suzerain 
rights.  With  that  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  emperor 
and  his  ministers  which  has  always  distinguished  the  British  for- 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  253 

1886-1887 

eign  office,  it  was  agreed  that  if  China  would  consent  no  longer  to 
interfere  in  Burmese  politics,  the  decennial  tribute  mission  should 
continue  to  be  dispatched  to  Peking.  The  folly  of  this  arrange- 
ment soon  became  apparent.  Since  1842  Great  Britain's  main 
endeavor  in  dealing  with  the  Chinese  had  been  to  bring  home  to 
their  consciousness  the  fact  that  she  was  a  nation  to  be  treated 
on  terms  of  perfect  equality  with  themselves.  The  sending  of  the 
tribute  mission  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  presupposing  on  the 
part  of  the  foreign  office  a  complete  ignorance  of  Asiatics  and 
their  modes  of  thought.  With  a  return  to  a  more  reasonable  mind 
the  arrangement  was  discontinued. 

The  latest  outbreak  in  Korea,  described  above,  had  disquieted 
other  countries  besides  China  and  Japan.  The  Russians  protested 
that  such  disturbances,  recurring  at  such  short  intervals,  presented 
a  danger  to  the  peace  of  their  provinces  across  the  frontier  which 
was  not  to  be  endured,  and  there  were  not  wanting  the  usual  signs 
of  a  threatened  move  southward  on  the  part  of  the  Colossus  of 
the  North.  In  these  circumstances  the  British  admiralty  deter- 
mined, as  a  protective  measure,  to  occupy  Port  Hamilton,  an 
island  ofif  the  southern  coast  of  Korea.  In  obedience  to  the  follow- 
ing laconic  telegram :  "  Occupy  Port  Hamilton,  and  report  pro- 
ceedings," Admiral  Sir  William  Dowell  hoisted  the  British  flag 
on  the  island.  This  move  aroused,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
considerable  Russian  opposition,  and  the  czar's  minister  at  Peking 
was  instructed  to  warn  the  Chinese  that  if  the  occupation  was  per- 
sisted in,  Russia  would  be  compelled  to  take  possession  of  a  similar 
foothold  in  self-defense.  Happily  under  the  influence  of  the  Ito 
and  Li  convention  a  more  peaceful  state  of  affairs  had  supervened 
in  Korea,  and  the  British  Government  felt  justified,  under  the 
favorably  altered  circumstances,  in  yielding  the  point.  It  was, 
however,  laid  down  as  a  condition  of  the  restoration  of  the  island, 
that  under  no  circumstances  whatever  should  it  at  any  time  be 
handed  over  to  any  other  foreign  power,  and  simultaneously  the 
Chinese  Government  extracted  from  the  Russian  minister  a  cate- 
gorical undertaking  that  his  country  would  not,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, interfere  with  Korean  territory.  On  February  27, 
1887,  the  British  flag  ceased  to  fly  over  Port  Hamilton. 

The  year  which  followed  was  an  uneventful  one  as  far  as 
foreign  politics  are  concerned,  but  the  internal  affairs  of  the  em- 
pire gave  plenty  of  occupation  to  the  emperor's  ministers.     The 


254  CHINA 

1887 

reforms  in  the  army  were  still  being  carried  on,  although  in  the 
usual  ineffective  Oriental  way.  How  deplorable  was  the  condition 
of  this  branch  of  the  service  may  be  inferred  from  memorials  pre- 
sented to  the  throne  at  this  time.  The  governor  of  Shensi  proposed 
to  inspect  the  troops  of  the  province,  who  for  thirty  years  had 
never  presented  themselves  on  the  parade  ground.  The  troops  in 
the  province  of  Yunnan  were  perhaps  not  quite  in  so  parlous  a 
condition.  They  were,  however,  mainly  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows,  and  the  governor  with  some  show  of  reason  reminded  his 
imperial  master  that  though  archery  is  a  good  gymnastic  exercise, 
the  weapons  with  which  battles  are  won  are  rifles  and  cannon,  and 
he,  therefore,  proposed  to  arm  his  men,  so  far  as  possible,  with 
these  weapons.  Doubtless  the  miserable  condition  of  the  army  is 
attributable  to  the  fact  that  at  earlier  periods  the  enemies  whom  the 
Chinese  have  been  accustomed  to  meet  have  been  even  worse  armed 
and  worse  drilled  than  themselves. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  speak  a  war  was  being  waged  in 
Hainan  against  the  aboriginal  tribes  who  inhabit  and  disturb  that 
island.  After  many  engagements  and  a  lengthened  campaign,  the 
Chinese  general  announced  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  and  re- 
ceived from  the  emperor  characteristic  rewards  for  his  martial 
valor.  His  Majesty  presented  him  with  a  jade  thumb-ring,  a  dag- 
ger with  a  jade  handle,  a  pair  of  large  pouches,  and  a  pair  of  small 
ones.  An  incidental  reference  in  the  general's  dispatch  to  the  un- 
healthfulness  of  the  climate  and  the  malarial  evils  arising  from  it 
awakened  the  sympathy  of  the  dowager  empress,  who  was  good 
enough  to  present  the  army  with  ten  boxes  of  P'ingan  Tan,  or 
"  pills  of  peace  and  tranquillity." 

In  the  beginning  of  1887  an  announcement  was  made  that  the 
young  emperor,  having  now  reached  years  of  discretion,  that  is  to 
say  the  ripe  age  of  sixteen  would  accept  the  reins  of  power.  But 
this  apparently  did  not  harmonize  with  the  wishes  of  the  "  Son 
of  Heaven."  "  When  I  heard  of  the  decree,"  he  wrote  in  his  edict 
in  response,  "  I  trembled  as  if  I  was  in  mid-ocean,  not  knowing 
where  the  land  is.  Her  Majesty  will,  however,  continue  to  advise  me 
for  a  few  years  longer  in  important  affairs  of  state.  I  shall  not 
dare  to  be  indolent,  and,  in  obedience  to  the  Empress's  command,  I 
have  petitioned  heaven,  earth,  and  my  ancestors,  that  I  may  assume 
the  administration  of  the  government  in  person  on  the  15th  day 
of  the  first  moon  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  my  reign.     Guided  by 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  256 

1887 

the  counsel  of  Her  Majesty,  everything  will  be  done  with  care." 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  dowager  empress  did  not  retire  from  the 
control  of  affairs  until  1889,  and  even  since  then  she  has  exercised 
considerable  influence  in  the  administration  of  the  empire.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  emperor  desired  to  put  off  as  long 
as  possible  the  weight  of  government.  The  life  of  a  "  Son  of 
Heaven  "  is  certainly  not  to  be  envied.  With  rare  exceptions  he 
remains  a  state  prisoner  within  the  palace  walls,  and  even  on  the 
Progresses  which  he  is  occasionally  called  upon  to  make,  the  heavy 
duties  of  his  position  are  still  constantly  with  him.  Even  at  the 
time  when  the  dowager  empress  shared  his  responsibilities,  his 
duties  were  onerous,  and  from  notices  which  appeared  in  the 
Peking  Gazette  some  idea  of  his  official  thraldom  can  be  gained. 
In  March,  1887,  he  visited  the  tombs  of  his  ancestors  in  the  West- 
ern Hills,  and  each  day  at  fixed  hours  batches  of  memorials  were 
sent  after  him  to  occupy  his  leisure  moments  at  the  halting-places. 
On  arriving  at  the  mausolea  he  performed  at  the  tombs  the  sac- 
rifices which  were  necessary  for  the  repose  of  the  dead,  who,  if  his 
object  were  gained,  would  appear  to  have  been  the  only  ones  bene- 
fited by  the  process.  For  weeks  beforehand  the  people  living  on 
the  highway  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  repairing  the  road  and 
mending  the  bridges.  This  duty  they,  on  this  occasion,  failed  to 
perform  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  the  traveler,  who  made 
a  formal  complaint  that  he  had  observed  wheel  tracks  on  the 
roadway  over  which  his  chariot  should  have  been  the  first  to  travel. 
It  must  always  be  a  matter  of  wonder  how  the  national  ac- 
counts, being  of  an  extremely  fluctuating  nature,  can  ever  be  made 
to  balance.  In  the  year  of  which  we  are  speaking  the  Yellow  River 
was  more  than  usually  capricious  in  its  ebb  and  flow.  On  several 
occasions  it  burst  its  banks  and  flooded  the  country  far  and  wide. 
As  a  natural  consequence  farms  were  desolated  and  whole  villages 
were  swept  away.  From  people  in  such  straits  it  was  plainly  im- 
possible to  expect  payment  of  taxes,  and  neither  from  the  provinces 
of  Honan  nor  Shantung  was  a  tithe  of  the  usual  revenue  received. 
The  currency  also  is  of  so  variable  a  value  that  large  losses  are 
constantly  incurred  by  the  mints,  and  Kwanghsii's  ministers  had 
not  only  to  bear  the  brunt  of  a  monetary  crisis  in  Peking,  but  had 
to  meet  the  consequences  of  several  financial  panics  in  different 
parts  of  the  empire.  At  Foochow,  as  elsewhere,  the  local  banks 
had  issued  paper  currency  far  beyond  the  due  proportion  of  reserve 


256  CHINA 

1887-1888 

coin  in  their  chests.  The  natural  results  followed,  and  as  the  banks 
closed  their  doors  they  were  attacked  by  angry  mobs  who  wrecked 
them  utterly,  and  attempted,  vainly,  to  recompense  themselves  by 
plunder  for  the  losses  they  had  sustained.  In  the  midst  of  these 
money  difficulties  the  emperor,  in  a  lofty  manner,  issued  an  edict 
calling  upon  his  officials  to  exercise  the  strictest  economy  in  the 
administration  of  the  empire,  and  warning  the  court  mandarins 
to  avoid  all  unnecessary  expenditure  in  the  palace  ceremonies,  for, 
as  he  said,  "  the  court  should  stand  forth  as  an  example  of  frugality 
to  the  whole  nation." 

At  this  time  the  war  with  France  had  given  a  great  impetus  to 
the  extension  of  telegraphs  throughout  the  empire,  and  in  1887 
the  line  was  completed  which  connected  Peking  with  the  capital 
of  Yunnan,  the  extreme  southwesterly  province  in  the  empire.  The 
old-fashioned  notion  that  the  fengshui  ^  of  the  districts  through 
which  the  wires  passed  would  be  affected  by  their  presence  had 
ceased  to  exist,  and  there  were  not  wanting  signs  that  the  days  of 
that  venerable  superstition  were  numbered.  At  Jehol  in  Mongolia 
large  quarries  were  opened  for  imperial  purposes,  and,  to  prevent 
all  misunderstandings,  an  order  was  issued  by  Li  Hung  Chang  that 
no  one  should  dare  to  suggest  that  the  disturbance  of  the  earth's 
surface  would  in  any  way  affect  the  fengshui  of  the  neighborhood. 
In  this  he  was  implicitly  obeyed,  as  he  had  also  been  in  the  case  of 
the  K'aip'ing  railway,  and  the  emperor  got  his  stone  without  arous- 
ing any  of  that  opposition  which  twenty  years  ago  would,  under 
similar  circumstances,  have  been  rampant. 

Notwithstanding  the  emperor's  protest  in  favor  of  economy, 
the  year  1887  was  marked  by  the  preparation  of  several  magnifi- 
cent court  ceremonies.  Since  the  emperor  had  been  declared  to  be 
of  age,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  think  of  taking  to  himself 
a  consort,  and  under  the  direction  of  the  dowager  empress  he  ar- 
ranged to  espouse  a  young  lady  named  Yehonala,  the  daughter  of 
the  empress's  brother.  General  Kweihsiang ;  and  after  the  manner  of 
the  country  it  was  determined  that  he  should  also  take  to  himself 
two  concubines,  who  owned  to  the  youthful  ages  of  thirteen  and 
fifteen.  For  rather  more  than  a  year  the  emperor  was  left  to 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  anticipation,  and  it  was  not  till  March, 
1889,  that  the  imperial  wedding  took  place.  The  officials  of  the 
Astronomical  Board  chose,  as  was  their  duty,  a  day  which  was 
1  Fengshui,  or  "  wind  and  water,"  referring  to  a  system  of  geomancy. 


T'UNGCHIH     AND     KWANGHSU  257 

1889 

believed  to  augur  well  for  the  happiness  of  the  young  couple,  but 
in  a  moment  of  carelessness  announced  that  the  usual  preparatory- 
worship  would  be  offered  two  days  before,  instead  of  one  day 
before,  the  ceremony.  For  this  error  they  were  roundly  taken  to 
task  by  the  dowager  empress,  who,  being  a  staunch  ceremonialist, 
decreed  that  they  should  suffer  severe  penalties  for  their  mistake. 
By  an  imperial  edict  the  rites  and  ceremonies  which  were  to  be 
carefully  observed  consisted  of  seven  parts.  First  came  the  send- 
ing of  presents ;  then  the  actual  marriage ;  next  the  joint  worship 
of  their  ancestors  by  the  imperial  pair;  the  conferring  a  patent  as 
empress  on  the  bride;  her  presentation  to  the  dowager  empress; 
the  reception  of  felicitations ;  and  an  imperial  banquet. 

Honors  in  commemoration  of  the  event  were  bestowed  on 
Sir  Robert  Hart  and  numberless  other  officials,  while  the  carriers 
of  the  bride's  sedan-chair  and  even  the  torchbearers  who  attended 
upon  her  received  royal  largess.  With  this  final  assumption  of 
manhood  the  emperor  passed  out  of  the  leading  strings  by  which 
the  Empress  Tzuhsi  had  so  long  directed  his  course,  and  one  of 
the  first  of  his  new  duties  was  to  prepare  a  palace  for  the  reception 
of  the  ex-regent.  The  choice  of  this  residence  had,  as  we  are  told 
in  the  Peking  Gazette,  been  a  subject  of  long  and  anxious  consid- 
eration to  the  emperor,  who,  in  well-rounded  sentences,  declared 
in  a  decree  his  anxiety  to  procure  for  her  Majesty  a  place  of  rest 
and  peace  after  the  eighteen  wearisome  years  of  administration 
which  had  fallen  to  her  lot.  In  an  appreciative  edict  the  empress  re- 
turned the  compliments  paid  her  and  took  the  opportunity  of  giving 
utterance  to  the  following  excellent  advice :  "  The  emperor  is  now 
advancing  to  manhood,  and  the  greatest  respect  which  he  can  pay 
to  us  will  be  to  discipline  his  own  body,  to  develop  his  mind,  to  pay 
unremitting  attention  to  the  administration  of  the  government,  and 
to  love  his  people."  From  all  accounts  the  young  emperor  has 
endeavored  to  obey  these  wholesome  admonitions,  and  from  the 
records  of  his  daily  life  there  seems  to  be  very  little  time  left  for 
the  enjoyment  of  the  pleasures  of  existence  after  he  has  shown  his 
love  for  his  people  by  attending  to  the  administration  of  the  em- 
pire. The  following  programme  of  a  by  no  means  uncommon 
morning's  work  is  enough  to  justify  this  assertion.  At  2  a.  m. 
he  leaves  the  palace  for  the  Temple  of  Earth,  where  he  sacrifices 
to  the  gods  of  the  five  grains.  At  4  a.  m.  he  returns  to  the  palace, 
where  he  partakes  of  an  early  breakfast;    and  then  proceeds  to 


268  CHINA 

1889-1890 

the  Temple  of  the  God  of  Fire,  where  he  burns  incense,  and,  after- 
having  offered  up  the  usual  prayers,  returns  to  the  palace  to  receive 
the  reports  of  his  ministers  and  to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  empire. 

The  years  during  which  the  dowager  empress  had  held  the 
reins  of  power  had  been  full  of  difficulties  and  anxieties,  and  it 
says  much  for  her  ability  that  she  was  able  to  steer  the  ship  of 
state  in  safety  through  the  ruffled  waters  of  the  time.  The  assump- 
tion of  power  by  Kwanghsii  brought  no  relief  to  this  strain.  Local 
rebellions  immediately  broke  out  in  the  provinces  of  Yunnan  and 
Hunan,  and  among  the  bordering  tribes  of  Lolos;  and  though 
these  were  successfully  suppressed,  the  peace  of  the  country  was 
for  a  time  seriously  disturbed. 

During  the  long  minority  of  the  emperor  the  foreign  ministers 
at  Peking  had  been  obliged  to  forego  the  right  of  audience.  But,  as 
in  the  case  of  T'ungchih,  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  they 
might  fairly  ask  to  be  received  by  the  "  Son  of  Heaven."  Having, 
however,  intimated  their  desire  to  appear  in  the  imperial  presence 
they  took  no  actual  step  to  accomplish  this  end,  and  without 
further  negotiations  the  following  edict  appeared  in  the  Peking 
Gazette  of  December  12,  1890 :  "  Since  the  treaties  have  been  made 
with  the  various  nations  letters  and  dispatches  under  the  seals  of 
the  governments  have  passed  to  and  fro,  making  complimentary 
inquiries  year  by  year  without  intermission.  The  harmony  which 
has  existed  has  become  thus  from  time  to  time  more  and  more 
secure.  The  ministers  of  the  various  powers  residing  at  Peking 
have  abundantly  shown  their  loyal  desire  to  maintain  peaceful 
relations  and  international  friendship.  This  I  cordially  recognize, 
and  I  rejoice  in  it.  In  the  first  and  second  months  of  last  year, 
when  there  were  special  reasons  for  expressing  national  joy,  I 
received  a  gracious  decree  [from  the  empress  dowager]  ordering 
the  ministers  of  the  Yamen  for  Foreign  Affairs  to  entertain  the 
ministers  of  foreign  nations  at  a  banquet.  That  occasion  was  a 
memorable  and  happy  one.  I  have  now  been  in  charge  of  the 
government  for  two  years.  The  ministers  of  foreign  powers  ought 
to  be  received  by  me  at  an  audience,  and  I  hereby  decree  that  the 
audience  to  be  held  be  in  accordance  with  that  of  the  twelfth  year 
of  the  reign  of  T'ungchih  [1873].  It  is  also  hereby  decreed  that 
a  day  will  be  fixed  every  year  for  an  audience,  in  order  to  show 
my  desire  to  treat  with  honor  all  the  ministers  of  foreign  powers 
resident  in  Peking.     .     .     .     The  ministers  of  the  Yamen   for 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  259 

1890 

Foreigfn  Affairs  are  hereby  ordered  to  prepare  in  the  first  month 
of  the  ensuing  new  year  a  memorial  asking  that  the  time  for  the 
audience  may  be  fixed.  On  the  next  day  the  foreign  ministers  are 
to  be  received  at  a  banquet  at  the  Foreign  Office.  The  same  is  to 
be  done  every  year  in  the  first  month,  and  the  rules  will  be  the  same 
on  each  occasion.  New  ministers  coming  will  be  received  at  this 
annual  audience.  At  all  times  of  national  congratulation,  when 
China  and  the  foreign  countries  give  suitable  expression  to  their 
joy,  the  ministers  of  the  Foreign  Office  are  to  present  a  memorial 
asking  for  the  bestowal  of  a  banquet  to  show  the  sincere  and  in- 
creasing desire  of  the  imperial  government  for  the  maintenance  of 
peace  and  the  best  possible  relations  between  China  and  the  foreign 
states." 

The  fact  that  this  decree  was  published  spontaneously,  and 
that  the  terms  in  which  it  was  dictated  evinced  a  desire  for  friendly 
relations,  encouraged  the  foreign  ministers  to  hope  that  a  brighter 
day  was  dawning  on  their  relations  with  the  imperial  government. 
These  anticipations,  however,  were  not  destined  to  find  fulfillment 
at  once.  The  building  named  for  the  ceremony  was  the  same  hall 
dedicated  to  inferior  uses  as  that  in  which  T'ungchih  received  the 
diplomatic  body  in  1873,  and  in  one  respect  an  act  was  at  this  time 
imposed  which  formed  a  distinct  relapse  from  the  level  reached  in 
1873.  In  that  year  the  ministers  placed  their  letters  of  credence 
with  their  own  hands  on  the  table  in  front  of  the  emperor's  throne. 
Now  they  were  expected  to  hand  them  to  an  attendant  prince,  who, 
in  this  respect,  acted  in  their  stead.  Though  this  change  may  appear 
insignificant  to  Western  minds,  it  meant  much,  and  it  was  intended 
to  mean  much,  to  the  native  onlookers  who  crowded  the  outskirts 
of  the  hall  in  an  inconvenient  and  especially  indecorous  manner. 
The  emperor's  reply  to  the  congratulations  of  his  visitors  was  most 
cordial,  and  his  manner  was  then,  as  it  always  has  been  since,  as 
courteous  as  circumstances  permitted.  On  the  whole,  however, 
the  audience  cannot  be  said  to  have  come  up  to  what  might  reason- 
ably have  been  expected,  and  the  ministers  on  reviewing  their  posi- 
tion came  to  the  determination  that  in  future  they  would  rather 
forego  the  right  of  audience  than  present  themselves  again  in  the 
Tzukwang  Ko.  The  result  of  this  decision  might  have  taught 
them  the  very  useful  lesson  that  if  they  had  previously  shown  an 
equally  firm  front,  they  need  never  have  submitted  to  the  degrada- 
tions to  which  they  had  been  subjected.    In  the  following  year  both 


260  CHINA 

1890-1898 

the  Austrian  minister  and,  a  little  later,  the  British  representative, 
were  received  by  the  emperor  in  the  Cheng-Kwang  Tien,  a  building 
which,  though  outside  the  palace,  had  never  been  used  as  a  reception 
hall  for  envoys  from  tributary  states. 

But  what  diplomacy  had  failed  to  accomplish  in  this  matter, 
political  complications  brought  about  without  discussion.  The  war 
with  Japan  inclined  the  Chinese  Government  to  seek  for  the  counte- 
nance, if  not  the  support,  of  the  European  powers  by  granting 
timely  concessions,  and  in  November,  1894,  the  following  edict 
appeared  in  the  Peking  Gazette:  "  On  Monday  last  the  Emperor 
gave  audience  in  the  Wenhwa  Tien  to  the  following  ministers: 
American,  Russian,  English,  French,  Belgian,  Swedish,  and  the 
acting  minister  for  Spain."  The  hall  here  mentioned  stands  within 
the  walls  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  and  thus  for  the  first  time  an  au- 
dience was  granted  in  a  manner  which  demonstrated  the  equality 
with  China  of  the  nations  represented.  Since  then,  however,  events 
have  marched  apace,  and  foreigners,  taking  advantage  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  empire,  have  occupied  strategic  positions  which  until 
now  have  been  beyond  the  dreams  of  their  ambition.  The  attitude 
of  the  emperor  toward  foreign  sovereigns  reflects  this  changed 
position  of  affairs,  and  in  May,  1890,  Prince  Henry  of  Grermany  was 
received  by  the  emperor  standing,  and  was  even  honored  by  a  re- 
turn visit  from  the  "  Son  of  Heaven." 

It  is  necessary  now,  in  order  to  preserve  the  general  chronology 
and  sequence  of  events,  to  revert  to  the  year  1887.  For  some  time 
it  had  been  felt  by  the  less  bigoted  members  of  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment that  use  should  be  made  of  European  science  to  enable  the 
authorities  to  place  their  country  in  a  position  of  safety.  As  long 
ago  as  1866  Prince  Kung  and  others  had  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  throne  recommending  the  study  of  mathematics  for  Chinese 
students,  and  advising  the  emperor  to  found  a  college  at  Peking 
where  that  and  cognate  sciences  might  be  taught.  The  college  was 
established  and  European  professors  were  appointed.  But  this 
reform  was  in  advance  of  the  age,  and  failed  of  the  success  which 
it  had  been  hoped  it  might  achieve.  Twenty-one  years  later  a  more 
practical  step  was  taken  in  the  same  direction,  and  the  Tsungli 
Yamen  in  1887  presented  a  united  request  to  the  throne  that 
mathematics  should  be  included  in  the  list  of  subjects  required  from 
students  at  the  competitive  examinations.  The  imperial  assent  was 
given  to  this  proposal,  and  with  more  or  less  cordiality,  in  ac- 


T'UNGCHIH    AND    KWANGHSU  261 

1887-1891 

cordance  with  the  procHvities  of  the  officials  of  each  province,  the 
new  subject  has  been  placed  side  by  side  with  the  "  Book  of 
Changes  "  and  the  "  Sayings  of  Confucius." 

No  doubt  this  innovation  was  eminently  distasteful  to  the 
general  body  of  Literati,  whose  instincts  and  interests  are  bound 
up  in  the  continuance  of  the  existing  condition  of  things.  To  these 
men  any  concession  to  foreigners,  or  any  adoption  of  Western  ap- 
pliances, is  hateful,  and  with  one  consent  large  bodies  of  them 
banded  themselves  together  to  oppose  the  foreign  taint  by  every 
means  in  their  power.  Of  all  the  provinces  in  the  empire  Hunan 
has,  until  within  the  last  few  years,  shown  the  most  determined 
and  implacable  distaste  for  everything  European,  and  in  1891  there 
proceeded  from  this  hotbed  of  reactionism  a  series  of  vile  anti-for- 
eign placards  accusing  the  European  missionaries  of  every  crime 
which  disgraces  humanity.  The  prime  mover  in  the  publication  of 
these  gross  libels  was  a  certain  Chow  Han,  who  was  of  official  rank 
and  was  possessed  of  considerable  scholarship.  With  the  fiercest 
invective  he  described  how  missionaries  gouged  out  the  eyes  of  their 
converts,  and  cut  out  parts  of  their  intestines  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses, and  how  they  led  astray  the  unsuspecting  natives  by  their 
vile  arts  and  evil  designs.  These  placards  were  profusely  illus- 
trated, and  every  device  was  employed  to  cast  obloquy  both  on 
the  missionaries  and  on  the  Supreme  Being  whom  they  worshiped. 
It  happens  that  the  terms  which  the  Roman  Catholics  use  for 
God,  T'ienchu,  or  "  Lord  of  Heaven,"  is  almost  identical  in  sound 
with  words  meaning  the  "  Heavenly  Pig,"  and  it  suited  the  fancy 
of  these  impious  caricaturists  to  represent  the  Deity  under  this 
infamous  disguise.  An  expression  for  "  Foreigners,"  Yangjen, 
might,  in  the  same  way,  be  understood  to  mean  "  Goat  Men,"  and 
this  play  on  words  was  in  the  same  way  abundantly  made  use  of 
by  Chow  Han  and  his  confederates.  On  the  basis  of  these  slanders, 
rumors  were  circulated  that  children  were  being  kidnaped  and 
vivisected  by  the  missionaries,  and,  in  consequence,  as  has  always 
happened  in  China  in  similar  circumstances,  the  people  in  their 
ignorance  broke  out  into  riot  and  disorder.  In  rapid  succession  the 
mob  rose  at  Wuhu,  Wuhsueh,  Tanyang,  Wusieh,  Chingkwan, 
Yangyu,  and  Kiangyen.  Christian  churches  were  demolished,  the 
houses  of  the  missionaries  were  wrecked  and  looted,  at  Ishang 
an  American  mission  was  completely  destroyed  and  at  Wuh- 
sueh two  British  subjects  were  murdered.    In  accordance  with  the 


262  CHINA 

1891 

invariable  precedent  in  such  matters,  the  representations  on  the 
subject  made  by  the  British  minister  to  the  TsungH  Yamen  were 
met  with  evasive  repHes;  and  the  Chinese  minister  at  St.  James's 
was  even  instructed  to  suggest  to  Lord  SaHsbury  that  he  should 
check  the  zeal  of  Sir  John  Walsham  in  pursuing  his  inquiry  into 
the  original  sources  of  the  riots.  So  eminently  unsatisfactory  was 
the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  Government  throughout  the  investiga- 
tion that  the  foreign  ministers  at  Peking  found  themselves  com- 
pelled to  place  on  record  "  that  no  faith  could  be  put  in  the  assur- 
ances of  the  Chinese  Government."  To  this  grave  assertion  Sir 
John  Walsham  added:  "The  charges  [against  the  mandarins] 
remain  unaltered,  and  the  repeated  assertions  of  Chinese  agents  in 
foreign  countries  that  the  Chinese  Government  has  acted  with  good 
faith  and  energy  can  be  disproved  by  facts,  and  are  as  plausible 
as  the  assurances  that  native  officials  might  now  be  safely  intrusted 
with  the  protection  of  foreigners." 

This  being  the  attitude  of  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  not  much  could 
be  expected  in  the  way  of  compensation  for  the  outrages.  After 
long  and  dreary  negotiations  certain  monetary  recompense  was 
granted,  but  the  only  official  who  suffered  punishment  was  the  man 
who  at  the  risk  of  his  life  saved  English  women  and  children  from 
the  fury  of  the  mob!  Meanwhile  the  prime  mover  in  the  whole 
matter,  Chow  Han,  was  allowed  to  remain  at  large,  although  the 
Yamen  went  through  the  form  of  holding  an  inquiry  into  his  con- 
duct. A  commission  was  appointed  to  adjudicate  upon  the  charges 
brought  against  him,  and  the  result  of  the  investigation  amounted 
to  the  assertion  that  he  was  a  wild,  erratic  creature  whose  actions 
were  not  to  be  regarded  seriously.  Without  hesitation  the  Yamen 
accepted  this  view,  and  left  the  malefactor  at  liberty  to  work  any 
further  mischief  which  might  be  in  his  power.  The  one  favorable 
feature  in  the  episode  was  the  edict  issued  by  the  emperor  in  re- 
sponse to  a  memorial  presented  by  the  Yamen  on  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  riots.     This  document  ran  as  follows: 

"  The  propagation  of  Christianity  by  foreigners  is  provided 
for  by  treaty,  and  imperial  decrees  have  been  issued  to  the 
provincial  authorities  to  protect  the  missionaries  from  time  to 
time  .  .  ,  The  doctrine  of  Christianity  has  for  its  purpose  the 
teaching  of  men  to  be  good.  .  .  .  Peace  and  quiet  should  reign 
among  the  Chinese  and  missionaries.  There  are,  however,  reck- 
less fellows  who  fabricate  stories  which  have  no  foundation  in  fact 


T'UNGCHIH    AND     KWANGHSU  263 

1891*1895 

for  the  purpose  of  creating  trouble.  Villains  of  this  class  are  not 
few  in  number,  and  are  to  be  found  everywhere.  The  local  authori- 
ties must  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  foreign  merchants  and 
missionaries  and  prevent  bad  characters  from  doing  them  in- 
jury. .  .  .  Let  this  decree  be  universally  promulgated  for  the  in- 
formation of  the  people." 

After  the  appearance  of  this  edict  matters  quieted  down  for  a 
time  in  the  disturbed  district,  but  a  strong  anti-foreign  feeling  still 
existed,  and  two  years  later  two  Swedish  missionaries  were  mur- 
dered at  Sungpu,  in  circumstances  which  were  especially  brutal. 
But  the  same  course  of  political  events  which  opened  the  imperial 
palace  to  the  foreign  ministers  produced  a  calm  so  far  as  Euro- 
peans were  concerned  in  the  provinces,  and,  though  outwardly  sat- 
isfactory, this  peaceful  situation  was  in  one  sense  evidence  of  one 
of  the  worst  features  of  the  attitude  of  the  Chinese  toward  for- 
eigners. It  has  always  been  contended  by  those  who  understand 
the  situation  best,  that  as  a  rule  the  anti-foreign  riots  are  made  to 
order,  and  it  is  at  least  eminently  noticeable  that  they  never  occur 
when  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  government  that  peace  should 
reign.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  Japanese  war  it  became  the  inter- 
est of  the  Chinese  to  seek  in  every  possible  way  to  conciliate  the 
foreign  powers,  and,  therefore,  the  word  went  forth  that  the  ele- 
ments of  disorder  were  to  remain  quiescent.  So  long  as  the  war 
lasted,  outrages  in  China  proper  ceased  completely,  and  it  was  not 
until  peace  had  been  signed  that  mob  law  again  prevailed  in  parts 
of  the  central  provinces,  more  especially  in  Szech'uan.  In  the 
capital  of  this  province  every  missionary  establishment  was  r^zed 
to  the  ground,  and  nearly  a  hundred  foreigners  were  compelled 
to  take  refuge  in  places  of  safety.  A  little  later  in  the  same  year, 
1895,  ^  peculiarly  savage  onslaught  was  made  on  the  missionary 
settlement  of  Hwashan,  in  the  province  of  Fuhkien.  With  the 
ordinary  natives  in  the  neighborhood  the  missionaries  were  on 
excellent  terms,  but  it  so  happened  that  a  local  society  of  vege- 
tarians, for  some  quite  unknown  reason,  professed  deadly  enmity 
to  the  foreigners.  This  state  of  things  was  perfectly  well  known 
to  the  local  authorities,  who,  however,  took  no  steps  to  check  the  evil 
which  they  saw  to  be  gathering  about  them.  At  early  dawn  one 
morning,  without  any  immediate  warning,  a  band  of  two  or  three 
hundred  of  these  miscreants  attacked  the  station,  and  succeeded  in 
murdering  ten  foreigners  and  wounding  others,  besides  destroying 


264.  CHINA 

1895-1897  ■ 

the  mission  premises.  This  outrage  was  a  shock  to  the  sensibiHties 
of  Europe,  and  so  strong  were  the  diplomatic  expressions  used 
with  regard  to  it,  that  the  Chinese  Government  showed  a  some- 
what more  complacent  demeanor  than  usual  in  the  conduct  of  the 
subsequent  inquiries.  The  murder,  in  November,  1897,  of  two 
German  missionaries  brought  a  comparatively  new  factor  into 
relation  with  China  and  called  forth  action  on  the  part  of  the  Ger- 
man Government  which  has  had  enormous  consequences.  As  has 
so  often  been  said,  the  Chinese  will  yield  only  to  force,  and  it  is  only 
by  such  measures  as  those  Germany  has  adopted  in  Shantung  and 
Chihli  that  the  lives  and  property  of  Christian  missionaries  can  be 
preserved  from  harm.  At  the  same  time  Germany,  practically 
dominant  in  both  provinces  and  in  possession  of  Kiaochow,  holds 
the  key  to  northern  China.  The  port  of  Kiaochow  not  only  is  the 
natural  outlet  for  the  trade  of  northern  China,  but  is  the  coaling 
station  for  the  northern  Chinese  waters.  Moreover,  as  a  naval 
base  it  has  a  strategic  value  and  no  invasion  of  the  country  could 
ever  be  attempted,  according  to  the  memorandum  of  the  German 
expert,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Rheinhold  Wagner,  without  the  cap- 
ture of  Kiaochow. 


h 


Chapter  XIII 

THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN.     1894-1895 

KOREAN  politics  have,  as  we  have  seen,  constantly  formed 
bones  of  contention  between  the  Chinese  and  Japanese 
governments.  The  country  has  been  overrun  at  different 
periods  by  the  troops  of  both  nations,  and  with  that  curious  elas- 
ticity of  obligations  common  to  the  extreme  East  the  Korean  Gov- 
ernment has  owned  itself  a  feudatory  at  one  and  the  same  time  of 
both  China  and  Japan.  It  will  be  remembered  that  by  the  con- 
vention signed  by  Count  Ito  and  Li  Hung  Chang  it  was  agreed 
that,  in  case  circumstances  arose  which  demanded  the  presence  of 
the  troops  of  either  country  in  Korea,  each  should  send  notice  to 
the  other  of  her  intention  to  land  soldiers.  In  1894  such  a  con- 
tingency arose.  The  Tong  Hak,  or  followers  of  the  Eastern  Doc- 
trine, rose  in  revolt  primarily  against  the  Roman  Catholic  converts, 
but  also  against  the  government  of  the  country.  A  force  sent 
against  them  from  Seoul  met  with  a  serious  reverse,  and  in  his 
difficulty  the  king,  in  accordance  with  precedent,  appealed  to 
Peking  for  help. 

With  the  contemptuous  disregard  for  international  obliga- 
tions which  distinguishes  the  Chinese,  they  in  response  to  the 
king's  appeal  landed  troops  in  Korea  without,  as  the  Japanese 
aver,  giving  any  notice  of  their  intention  to  do  so.  As  a  protest 
against  this  step  the  Mikado's  government  dispatched  a  corps 
d'armee  in  all  haste  to  Korea,  and  thus  once  again  the  troops  of 
the  two  states  were  brought  face  to  face  in  a  semi -hostile  attitude. 
Neither,  however,  was  inclined  to  fight,  and  the  Japanese  contented 
themselves  with  advocating  the  introduction  of  reforms  into  the 
administration  of  the  country.  To  this  eminently  sensible  course 
the  Chinese  took  exception,  and  warned  the  Japanese  that  all 
questions  relating  to  the  reformation  of  the  country  should  be  left 
in  their  hands.  To  this  political  snub  the  Japanese  submitted,  and 
even  made  no  protest  against  a  further  preposterous  demand  that 
all  men-of-war  flying  the  Mikado's  flag  should  leave  the  Chinese 

865 


^66  CHINA 

1894 

ports  by  July  20  following.  Though  so  far  compliant,  the  Japa- 
nese warned  their  opponents  that  they  would  consider  any  further 
importation  of  troops  into  the  country  as  an  act  of  war.  They 
were,  however,  too  well  versed  in  Chinese  methods  to  accept 
blindly  the  assurances  that  were  made  them  on  this  point,  and  took 
the  reasonable  precaution  of  sending  three  cruisers  to  the  gulf  of 
Pechihli  to  ensure  the  fulfillment  of  the  understanding.  The  event 
proved  that  this  rheasure  was  justified,  for  on  the  morning  of  July 
25  the  Japanese  squadron  encountered  a  Chinese  transport  loaded 
with  troops,  and  accompanied  by  two  men-of-war,  making  for 
the  coast  of  Korea.  There  could  only  be  one  outcome  of  this 
breach  of  faith,  and  the  cruisers  on  both  sides  cleared  for  action. 
In  less  than  an  hour  one  of  the  Chinese  warships  was  disabled  and 
beached,  and  the  other  steamed  off,  leaving  the  transport  to  be 
dealt  with  by  the  Japanese  commander,  who  signaled  to  the  cap- 
tain to  make  for  a  Japanese  port.  To  this  summons  the  captain 
explained  that  he  was  unable  to  comply,  owing  to  the  attitude  of 
the  Chinese  soldiers  on  board,  who  further  prevented  him  from 
leaving  the  ship  when  he  was  subsequently  warned  to  do  so.  In 
this  deadlock  the  Japanese,  after  a  brief  interval,  hoisted  a  red 
flag  and  poured  a  broadside  into  the  transport.  The  scene  which 
followed  was  one  of  helpless  terror  and  alarm,  and  before  any  steps 
could  be  taken  to  save  the  life  of  a  single  person  on  board,  the 
ship  went  down,  carrying  with  it  most  of  its  passengers  and  crew. 
This  act  led  to  a  declaration  of  war  on  both  sides,  and  both 
powers  poured  troops  into  Korea.  The  first  battle  was  fought  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Asan,  a  port  in  the  southwest  of  the  peninsula. 
A  Chinese  force  occupied  the  town  commanded  by  General  Yeh, 
who  no  sooner  learned  of  the  approach  of  the  Japanese  than  he 
marched  off  with  the  bulk  of  his  forces  to  Pingyang,  a  strongly 
fortified  position  to  the  north  of  the  capital,  leaving  his  rearguard 
to  defend  the  city.  The  natural  result  followed.  At  the  end  of  a 
brief  skirmish  the  Japanese  took  possession  of  the  place,  and  after 
having  captured  the  Chinese  stores  and  munitions  of  war,  left  a 
garrison  in  the  forts  and  marched  northward  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
fugitive  Yeh.  At  Pingyang  Yeh  had  joined  hands  with  two  corps 
d'armee  and  a  force  of  cavalry  which  had  marched  south  from 
Manchuria.  The  position  was  naturally  a  strong  one,  and  if  the 
fortifications  had  been  effectively  defended,  it  might  well  have 
withstood  any  attack  that  the  Japanese  could  have  brought  against 


WAR     WITH     JAPAN 


267 


1894 

it.  But  Yeh  was  ignorant  as  well  as  being  a  coward,  and  when 
General  Tso,  who  was  the  only  brave  and  capable  officer  in  Korea, 
urged  him  to  make  preparations  for  the  defense  of  the  town  he 
laughed  the  necessity  to  scorn.  This  folly  was  fatal  to  the  Chinese 
cause  in  Korea.  From  the  east,  south,  and  west  three  Japanese 
divisions  converged  on  the  doomed  city.    Early  on  the  morning  of 


September  15  the  attacking  force  arrived  in  position.  This  was 
enough  for  the  redoubtable  Yeh,  who  straightway  performed 
another  strategic  movement  by  marching  his  troops  out  of  the 
north  gate  of  the  city,  and  onward  with  all  haste  to  the  Yalu  River, 
which  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  the  kingdom.  This  evil 
example  was  followed  by  General  Wei,  and  Tso  was  thus  left  alone 
to  face  the  enemy  as  best  he  could.  He  fought  well  and  bravely, 
dying  at  the  head  of  his  men,  over  whose  bodies  the  Japanese 
streamed  into  the  city.    It  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  for  this 


268  CHINA 

1894 

gross  act  of  cowardice  General  Wei  was  beheaded,  and  that  Yeh. 
though  able  by  a  liberal  expenditure  of  money  to  keep  his  head 
on  his  shoulders,  was  confined  in  the  Board  of  Punishments  at 
Peking. 

Before  the  fate  of  Pingyang  was  decided,  the  Chinese  had 
dispatched  a  strong  force  of  troops  under  the  convoy  of  the 
northern  fleet  to  the  Yalu  River.  There  they  arrived  in  safety,  and 
were  in  the  act  of  landing  when,  on  the  morning  of  September  17, 
the  Japanese  fleet  hove  in  sight.  The  position  was  one  in  which 
Admiral  Ting,  who  commanded  the  Chinese  fleet,  could  not  resist 
fighting,  and  he  steamed  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  having  marshaled 
his  fleet  in  a  V-shaped  formation,  with  two  of  his  most  powerful 
ironclads  in  the  center.  In  point  of  numbers  the  two  fleets  were 
equal,  twelve  ships  carrying  the  nation's  flag  in  each  case.  Both 
sides  fought  with  determination,  but,  as  in  every  engagement 
during  the  war,  the  Chinese  were  from  the  first  out-maneuvered. 
The  Japanese  ships,  being  faster  than  those  of  their  opponents, 
were  able  to  take  up  the  positions  which  suited  them  best,  and  to 
avoid  as  far  as  possible  the  Chinese  guns.  In  these  circumstances 
the  result  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  by  the  end  of  the  day 
five  Chinese  ships  were  sunk  and  the  rest  were  in  full  flight.  So 
severe  had  been  the  battle  that  the  Japanese  ships  were  unable  to 
follow  in  pursuit,  and  seven  of  the  retreating  fleet  reached  Port 
Arthur  in  safety. 

Meanwhile  Marshal  Yamagata  marched  northward  from 
Pingyang,  and  on  October  8  occupied  the  town  of  Wiju  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Yalu.  Korea  was  now  swept  clear  of  Chinese 
troops,  and  the  Japanese  were  at  liberty  to  carry  the  war  into 
Manchuria.  Without  meeting  with  any  serious  opposition  Yama- 
gata crossed  the  Yalu  River  and  joined  forces  with  General  Nodzu, 
who  on  October  25  gained  a  signal  victory  over  the  Chinese  at 
Hushan.  From  this  point  the  invaders  had  almost  a  march  over, 
and  some  of  the  strongest  places  in  southern  Manchuria  sur- 
rendered without  striking  a  blow. 

While  Nodzu  and  Yamagata  were  thus  making  their  tri- 
umphal march  northward.  General  Oyama  landed  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Kinchow,  a  city  which  stands  on  the  narrow  neck  of 
land  to  the  northward  of  Port  Arthur.  On  November  5  and  6 
Talienwan  and  Kinchow  opened  their  gates  to  the  invaders,  and 
Oyama  was  consequently  set  free  to  attack  Port  Arthur  from  the 


WAR     WITH     JAPAN  269 

1894-1895 

land  side.  The  intervening  country  being  very  rough  and  hilly, 
and  the  roads  bad,  the  difficulties  were  of  no  mean  order,  but  by 
the  2 1  St  of  the  month  the  troops  were  in  position  to  deliver  their 
assault.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  Chinese  failed  to  distinguish 
themselves  for  courage,  and  after  some  show  of  resistance, 
deserted  the  batteries  and  escaped  along  the  shore  flanking  the 
Japanese  troops.  The  fall  of  this  place  was  a  crushing  blow  to  the 
Chinese  cause.  It  was  the  position  on  which  Li  Hung  Chang 
had  expended  vast  sums  of  money,  and  which  had  always  been 
regarded  as  impregnable.  To  the  Japanese,  however,  the  achieve- 
ment represented  only  an  incident  in  the  war,  and  with  unabated 
energy  Oyama  waited  only  to  garrison  the  captured  stronghold, 
and  then  marched  northward  into  Manchuria,  capturing  by  the 
way  the  cities  of  Fuchow  and  K'aipingchow.  This  series  of  dis- 
asters induced  the  emperor  to  listen  to  the  advice  tendered  by  Li 
Hung  Chang  that  overtures  of  peace  should  be  made  to  the  enemy, 
and  two  futile  missions,  the  first  headed  by  a  member  of  the 
customs  service  named  Detring,  and  the  second  by  a  mandarin 
named  Chang,  were  consequently  dispatched  to  deprecate  the 
further  advance  of  the  Japanese  troops.  As  neither  of  these  envoys 
had  either  plenipotentiary  powers  or  appropriate  rank  they  were 
promptly  sent  back  to  those  who  had  commissioned  them.  While 
time  was  thus  wasted  the  Japanese  were  repeating  at  Wei-hai-wei, 
the  one  fortress  remaining  to  China,  the  tactics  which  had  secured 
the  capture  of  Port  Arthur;  but  here  the  task  was  a  more  difficult 
one.  The  Chinese  fleet  in  the  harbor  was  commanded  by  Admiral 
Ting,  who  had  fought  a  good  fight  in  the  battle  off  Yalu  River. 
His  back  was  now  against  the  wall,  and  he  was  determined  to 
defend  the  position  to  the  last.  Unhappily  his  command  did  not 
extend  to  the  soldiers,  and  when  he  wished  to  dismantle  the  outly- 
ing forts  to  prevent  the  Japanese  from  taking  them,  and  turning 
their  guns  on  the  fortress  as  they  had  done  at  Port  Arthur,  the 
soldiers  refused  to  carry  out  his  instructions.  The  result  was 
exactly  as  he  had  foreseen.  Without  much  difficulty  the  Japanese 
made  themselves  masters  of  the  outer  lines,  and  brought  the 
captured  artillery  to  bear  on  the  town;  but  Ting  still  held  the 
citadel  and  the  fleet,  and,  from  these  standpoints,  offered  a 
determined  resistance  to  the  enemy.  It  was  obvious,  however, 
that  in  the  end  the  Japanese  must  secure  the  prize,  and  when  this 
became  apparent  beyond  question  Ting  made  final  arrangements 


£70  CHINA 

189S 

with  Admiral  Ito  for  the  surrender  of  the  town  and  fleet  on  Febru- 
ary 7.  Having  agreed  to  the  necessary  conditions,  and  having 
secured  the  lives  and  freedom  of  his  men,  Ting  committed  suicide, 
an  example  which  was  followed  by  his  second  and  third  in  com- 
mand. It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  Admiral  Ito  did  honor  to  his 
late  gallant  opponent  by  detaching  a  captured  Chinese  man-of-war 
to  carry  the  admiral's  remains  to  Chifu.  This  final  disaster 
brought  home  to  the  emperor  and  his  advisers  the  inevitable  con- 
clusion that  if  any  remnant  of  sovereignty  was  to  be  left  to  them, 
they  must  at  once  make  peace  with  the  enemy.  It  also  emphasized 
the  lesson  which  they  were  beginning  to  learn,  that  it  was  useless 
to  try  to  impose  any  more  pseudo  plenipotentiaries  on  Japan,  and 
in  this  dilemma  the  emperor  turned  to  the  one  man  who,  from  his 
rank  and  abilities,  was  clearly  marked  out  as  a  fit  and  proper  person 
to  represent  the  empire  in  its  present  straits.  With  the  patriotism 
of  the  kind  which  has  always  distinguished  him,  Li  Hung  Chang 
at  once  undertook  the  mission  at  the  bidding  of  his  sovereign;  and 
after  some  delay,  due  to  his  efforts  to  gain  European  support 
against  any  demand  on  the  part  of  Japan  for  territorial  acquisitions 
on  the  mainland,  he  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  landed  on  a  foreign 
shore. 

In  the  negotiations  which  followed,  Li  first  attempted  to 
secure  an  armistice  during  the  discussion  of  the  terms  of  peace. 
To  this  the  Japanese  made  no  objection  on  the  conditions  ihai  the 
Taku  forts,  Shanhaikwan,  and  the  railway  to  Tientsin  should  be 
handed  over  to  the  Japanese  generals.  As  the  fulfillment  of  these 
terms  would  entail  the  virtual  command  of  Peking  from  the  coast, 
Li  declined  to  accept  them,  and  the  plenipotentiaries  therefore 
proceeded  at  once  to  arrange  the  terms  of  a  permanent  treaty. 
With  the  exception  of  the  regrettable  incident  of  the  wound  in- 
flicted on  Li  by  a  crazy  would-be  assassin,  the  discussion  proceeded 
favorably,  and  on  April  17,  1895,  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed. 
By  the  terms  of  this  document  the  Liaotung  peninsula  (including 
Port  Arthur),  Formosa,  and  the  Pescadores  were  ceded  to  the 
conquerors,  and  an  indemnity  of  200,000,000  taels  was  exacted 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

Although  a  strong  party  in  Peking  were  opposed  to  the 
ratification  of  this  humiliating  treaty,  the  emperor  gave  his  ap- 
proval to  it,  and  on  May  8  the  ratifications  were  exchanged  at 
Chifu.     But  though  China  had  thus  pledged  her  honor  to  the 


WAR     WITH     JAPAN  271 

189S 

terms  demanded,  a  strong  appeal  was  made  to  the  European 
powers  to  intervene  on  her  behalf.  This  entreaty  was  partially  suc- 
cessful, and  the  combined  governments  of  Russia,  Germany,  and 
France  were  induced  to  remonstrate  so  strongly  and  persistently 
against  the  cession  of  Liaotung  that  the  Japanese  thought  it  wise 
to  restore  the  peninsula  to  their  conquered  foe. 

The  disorder  and  uncertainty  which  had  overclouded  the 
empire  during  the  continuance  of  the  war  seriously  interfered  with 
one  of  those  national  rejoicings  which  appeal  with  especial  force  to 
the  Chinese  mind.  In  1895  the  dowager  empress  completed  her 
sixtieth  year,  and  as  such  an  event  is  of  rare  occurrence  among 
members  of  the  imperial  family,  it  was  early  marked  out  to  be  the 
subject  of  a  grand  national  rejoicing.  With  that  respect  for  prece- 
dent which  so  distinguishes  the  backward-looking  intellect  of  the 
celestials,  the  officials  of  the  board  of  ceremonies  searched  in  the 
records  for  the  occurrence  of  a  similar  event  in  the  annals  of  the 
dynasty.  Their  researches  were  rewarded  by  finding  that  during 
the  reign  of  the  emperor  Ch'ienlung  the  dowager  empress  had 
reached  the  venerable  age  of  eighty,  and  that  on  that  occasion,  in 
addition  to  numberless  ceremonies,  the  emperor  on  horseback  had 
escorted  her  sedan-chair  from  her  residence  to  the  palace,  where, 
dressed  in  a  fantastic  garb,  he  had  danced  and  gesticulated  before 
his  aged  parent.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  device  was  not 
original,  but  was  carried  out  in  imitation  of  one  of  the  twenty- 
four  national  models  of  filial  piety,  who  at  the  age  of  seventy 
dressed  himself  up  as  a  child  and  frolicked  before  his  parents  in 
order  to  cheat  them  into  the  belief  that  they  were  still  untouched  by 
age.  The  more  sedate  part  of  the  ceremonial  was  loyally  adopted 
by  the  emperor,  who,  however,  with  some  show  of  wisdom,  declined 
to  disport  himself  in  the  motley  proposed. 

But  though  the  government  was  able  occasionally  to  divert 
its  attention  from  the  necessities  of  the  hour  by  this  and  other 
pageants,  it  was  soon  called  upon  again  to  consider  the  difficulties 
which  had  arisen  from  the  war.  The  three  European  powers 
which  had  posed  as  friends  in  need  soon  made  it  plain  that  they 
required  a  quid  pro  quo  for  their  intervention  in  the  matter  of  the 
Liaotung  peninsula.  In  this  regard  Russia  was  first  in  the  field 
and  demanded  the  right  of  carrying  the  Siberian  railway  through 
Manchuria  to  Vladivostok  with  a  branch  line  to  Kirin,  Mukden  and 
Port  Arthur.     France  followed  next  and  claimed  that  the  Chinese 


272  CHINA 

1895 

should  meet  the  Tonking  railway  at  the  frontier  and  continue  it 
as  far  as  Nanning  Fu,  in  the  province  of  Kwangsi.  Germany  was 
for  the  moment  less  ambitious  and  was  satified  with  asking  for 
certain  mining  and  financial  privileges.  To  these  several  exactions 
China  was  in  no  position  to  return  a  negative  answer,  and  indeed 
her  position  since  the  war  has  been  one  of  limp  impotence  without 
any  guiding  principle  to  direct  her  policy,  or  the  slightest  vestige 
of  power  to  uphold  her  rights.  One  of  her  chief  needs  through- 
out has  been  that  of  money  with  which  to  pay  off  the  indemnity  due 
to  Japan,  and  being  completely  helpless  so  far  as  her  own  resources 
were  concerned,  she  appealed  to  England  for  assistance.  Lord 
Salisbury,  acting  on  the  traditional  policy  of  his  country  toward 
China,  was  willing  to  arrange  a  loan  to  the  amount  of  sixty 
million  dollars,  and  negotiations  were  under  way  when  Russia 
intervened,  and  protested  so  vehemently  against  the  proceedings 
that  the  terrorized  Chinese  begged  to  be  allowed  to  withdraw 
from  their  bargain.  They  had,  however,  sufficient  sense  to  de- 
cline a  loan  proffered  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  eventually  the 
money  was  borrowed,  with  $20,000,000  in  addition,  from  the 
Hongkong  and  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  German  bank.  But  worse  difficulties  were  still  in  store  for  the 
distracted  country.  In  an  ill  moment  a  native  mob  rose  against 
a  German  missionary  establishment  in  Shantung  and  murdered 
two  of  the  priests.  This  incident  supplied  the  excuse  wanted  by 
Germany  for  obtaining  a  substantial  hold  on  the  country,  and, 
without  notice,  the  admiral  on  the  station  steamed  into  Kiaochow 
Bay  in  the  incriminated  province,  and  took  forcible  possession  of 
the  harbor  and  its  surroundings.  It  was  only  necessary  for  the 
Germans  to  say  that  they  were  there,  and  intended  staying,  to  make 
the  Chinese  acquiesce,  however  unwillingly,  in  the  arrangement. 
The  example  thus  set  was  speedily  followed.  Russia  demanded  a 
lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Talienwan  on  the  same  terms  as  that 
granted  to  the  Germans  at  Kiaochow,  and  as  a  counterblast  to  this 
last  move  Sir  Claud  Macdonald  was  instructed  to  ask  for  a  lease 
of  Wei-hai-wei  so  soon  as  the  Japanese,  who  had  been  holding  it  as 
security  for  the  payment  of  the  indemnity,  should  have  rendered 
it  again  to  China.  Later  still  France,  not  to  be  behindhand,  has 
taken  possession  of  Kwangchow  Bay  on  the  Lienchow  peninsula 
in  Kwangtung.  The  danger  of  this  system  of  seizing  at  will  ports 
along   the   coast   soon   became   sufficiently   obvious   even   to   the 


WARWITHJAPAN  278 

1895 

Chinese,  and  in  their  own  defense  they  readily  listened  to  the  pro- 
posals of  Sir  Claud  Macdonald  to  open  three  more  ports,  Yochow 
on  the  Tungt'ing  Lake,  Funing  Fu  on  the  coast  of  Fuhkien,  and 
Chinwang  in  the  Gulf  of  Liaotung,  to  which,  on  their  own  motion, 
they  added  Wusung,  near  Shanghai.  In  addition  to  these  new 
trade  centers,  three  ports  on  the  west  river  of  Canton  had  already 
been  declared  open  in  compensation  for  the  British  Shan  territory 
of  Kiang  Hung,  which  by  a  breach  of  treaty  had  been  alienated 
to  France. 

The  policy  of  throwing  open  the  whole  coast  line  to  trade  is 
the  only  one  which  will  secure  the  empire  against  the  attack  of 
grasping  powers.  By  the  favored  nation  clause  no  power  can 
acquire  any  rights  at  the  treaty  ports  which  are  not  shared  by  all 
the  signatories.  Any  attempt,  therefore,  to  grasp  at  exclusive 
privileges  on  the  part  of  any  one  nation  would  be  met  by  the  united 
opposition  of  the  rest  of  their  number,  and  in  the  present  helpless 
condition  of  the  state,  and  the  known  greed  of  various  govern- 
ments, this  is  the  only  sure  and  certain  means  of  defense  that  the 
empire  possesses. 

It  is,  as  it  always  has  been,  the  true  policy  of  England  to  look 
to  China  for  commercial  privileges  rather  than  for  territorial  gain, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  lease  of  Wei-hai-wei,  in  1898, 
every  move  on  her  part  has  been  in  the  direction  of  opening  the 
country  to  the  traffic  of  the  world.  It  was  in  this  spirit  that  in 
recognition  of  her  share  in  the  new  loan  she  urged  the  Chinese 
government  to  open  the  inland  waters  to  steam  navigation;  and  to 
undertake  that  on  no  conditions  should  the  valley  of  the  Yangtsze- 
kiang  be  alienated  to  any  foreign  power.  These  terms  have  been 
agreed  to,  and  additional  conditions  have  been  framed,  by  which  it 
is  arranged  that  so  long  as  British  trade  is  predominant  in  China 
Sir  Robert  Hart's  successors  shall  be  British  subjects,  and  that  the 
collection  of  the  Likin  ^  tax  at  the  ports  of  Soochow  and  Kiukiang, 
with  the  districts  of  Sunghu  and  Eastern  Chehkiang,  as  well  as  the 
salt  Likin  of  Ichang,  and  of  the  districts  of  Hupeh  and  Anhui,  shall 
be  placed  forthwith  under  the  control  of  the  inspector-general  of 
the  Imperial  Chinese  Maritime  Customs.  It  is  difficult  to  over-esti- 
mate the  importance  of  this  last  condition.  It  is  a  blow  at  that 
corruption  which  has  hitherto  made  progress  in  China  next  to 
impossible,  which  has  prevented  the  construction  of  railways, 
*  An  inland  tax,  well  known  from  being  imposed  on  foreign  goods  in  transit. 


£74 


CHINA 


1895 

which  has  hide-bound  the  trade  of  the  country,  and  which  has 
made  the  army  and  navy  of  the  empire  the  laughing-stock  of  the 
world.  If  once  the  political  administration  of  the  provinces  could 
be  placed  on  a  sound  and  honest  basis,  the  progressive  leaven 
which,  though  small,  does  exist  in  the  country,  could  gain  life  and 
energy,  and  China  might  yet  succeed  in  occupying  the  position  in 
the  world  to  which  her  teeming  population,  her  immense  wealth, 
and  the  industry  of  her  people  justly  entitle  her. 


Chapter    XIV 

REFORMS,   REACTION,   AND  THE  BOXER  REBELLION 

I 895-1 900 

THE  Japanese  war  worked  a  revolution  in  many  Chinese 
ideas,  until  then  regarded  as  fixed  and  immutable  and  as  a 
matter  of  sequence  events  of  grave  import  have  occurred 
in  China,  affecting  not  only  Europe,  but  the  whole  civilized  world. 

One  of  the  first  effects  of  the  war  was  to  promote  industrial 
enterprises,  and  in  response  to  a  certain  amount  of  encourage- 
ment, foreign  syndicates  swooped  down  on  the  country,  demanding 
concessions  for  making  railways,  working  mines,  and  developing 
the  resources  of  the  soil.  These  were  readily  granted  by  the 
emperor  under  the  advice  of  officials  who  were  enlightened  enough 
to  see  that  such  works  would  confer  great  and  lasting  benefits  on 
the  empire  at  large.  In  this  way  the  right  of  working  the  immense 
coal-mines  of  Shansi  was  given  to  one  company;  to  another  was 
granted  the  privilege  of  making  a  trunk  line  of  railway  from 
Peking  to  Canton ;  while  to  others  were  given  rights  to  dig  and  to 
delve  in  many  of  the  provinces  of  the  empire. 

These  privileges  were  granted  mainly  with  the  view  of  im- 
proving the  financial  position  of  the  empire,  a  subject  which  was 
occupying  the  very  serious  attention  of  the  emperor  and  his 
advisers.  The  national  revenue  was  recognized  as  being  barely 
sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  arising  from  the  foreign  debts  and 
the  necessary  expenditure  of  the  empire,  and  it  was  felt  that  any 
extra  strain  would  tax  the  resources  beyond  the  breaking  point. 
In  this  emergency  the  emperor  issued  an  edict  ordering  the 
provincial  magnates  to  recommend  to  the  throne  all  those  whose 
counsel  might  be  of  service  to  the  state.  The  result  of  this  appeal 
proved  to  be  a  momentous  one.  Among  the  men  so  recommended 
was  K'ang  Yuwei,  who  had  already  distinguished  himself  as  an 
ardent  advocate  of  reform,  and  as  one  holding  marked  and  inde- 
pendent views.  It  was  at  his  initiative  that  a  number  of  scholars, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  Japanese  war,  memorialized  the  throne, 
advocating  measures  for  placing  the  empire  in  such  a  position  as 

975 


276  CHINA 

1895-1898 

would  make  the  recurrence  of  a  similar  crushing  defeat  impossible, 
and  in  his  published  works  he  was  notorious  for  having  criticized 
the  views  of  the  ancient  sages  with  an  unsparing  pen. 

K'ang's  sponsor  was  the  celebrated  Weng  T'ungho,  who  had 
been  tutor  to  the  emperor,  and  who  certainly  was  not  credited  with 
any  undue  leaning  toward  reform.  His  credentials,  therefore, 
were  all  that  could  be  desired  from  a  Chinese  point  of  view,  and 
after  a  preliminary  interview  with  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  in  which 
he  failed  to  make  any  impression  on  the  officials,  he  was  introduced 
into  the  imperial  presence.  From  this  moment  his  influence  over 
the  emperor  became  supreme,  and  he  was  admitted  daily  into  the 
imperial  apartments,  where,  in  the  absence  of  all  formalities,  he 
was  allowed  to  expound  his  views  on  the  reforms  which  he  consid- 
ered necessary  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  empire. 

Unfortunately,  like  many  inexperienced  reformers,  K'ang 
proposed  to  cure  all  the  existing  political  ills  by  immediate  and 
drastic  measures — for  which,  however,  the  country  was  by  no 
means  prepared,  and  of  which  he  had  failed  to  count  the  cost. 
Among  many  other  proposals  it  was  suggested  that  a  central  board 
of  mining  and  railway  operations  should  be  formed;  that  com- 
mittees should  be  named  to  superintend  the  establishment  of  new 
schools  and  colleges  in  the  provinces;  that  full  liberty  should  be 
granted  to  the  press,  "  in  order  to  enlighten  those  in  authority 
and  to  tear  off  the  veil  which  hides  in  obscurity  the  misgovernment 
of  officials " ;  and  that  it  should  be  lawful  for  anyone  to  me- 
morialize the  throne.  Unhappily  for  the  empire,  the  emperor 
had  at  this  time  been  deprived  of  the  services  of  a  counselor  whose 
advice  might  have  saved  him  from  the  pitfalls  into  which  he  was 
destined  to  stumble.  On  May  3,  1898,  Prince  Kung  died,  and  with 
him  passed  away  a  moderating  influence  which  would  have  been 
of  inestimable  value  in  guiding  the  affairs  of  state  during  the 
troublous  times  which  were  to  follow.  Prince  Kung,  who  first 
appeared  on  the  political  stage  during  the  war  of  i860,  had  a 
clearer  insight  into  political  matters  than  most  of  his  colleagues, 
and  throughout  his  career  the  weight  of  his  counsels  in  all  matters 
in  dispute  was  commonly  thrown  on  the  side  of  conciliation  and 
peace.  Deprived  of  the  advice  of  this  statesman,  to  whom  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  look  for  help,  the  emperor  resigned  himself 
entirely  to  the  guidance  of  K'ang  Yuwei,  and  gave  his  imperial 
sanction  to  the  crude  proposals  of  that  enthusiast. 


THE     BOXER     REBELLION  277 

1898 

The  result  of  this  too  whole-hearted  confidence  speedily  be- 
came apparent.  Acting  on  the  permission  granted  by  edict,  a 
junior  member  of  the  board  of  rites  presented  to  his  Manchu 
superiors  a  memorial  with  the  request  that  it  might  be  forwarded 
to  the  throne.  In  their  wisdom,  the  president  and  vice-president 
of  the  board  declined  the  request  on  the  ground  that  the  memorial 
contained  revolutionary  ideas,  and  further  recommended  the  em- 
peror to  cashier  the  hot-headed  official.  But  the  emperor  was 
just  then  in  one  of  his  most  reforming  moods,  and,  instead  of 
accepting  the  advice  tendered,  dismissed  the  advisers  for  having 
acted  in  defiance  of  his  express  command.  The  summary  dis- 
missal of  these  high  officials  created  a  great  stir  in  political  circles, 
and  gave  the  dowager  empress  the  excuse  for  intervening  for 
which  she  had  long  been  looking.  What  domestic  steps  she  took 
to  upset  the  emperor's  authority  will  probably  never  be  fully 
known,  an  impenetrable  veil  being  drawn  over  all  that  goes  on 
within  the  vermilion  walls  of  the  palace.  But  on  September  21, 
1898,  there  appeared  an  edict  in  the  Peking  Gazette  in  which  the 
emperor  was  made  to  say :  "  Our  empire  is  now  laboring  under 
great  difficulties,  and  .  .  .  this  brought  us  to  the  thought  that 
her  Majesty  the  dowager  empress  .  .  .  had  since  the  reign 
of  the  late  Emperor  T'ungchih  twice  held  the  regency  with  much 
success,  and  that  although  the  empire  was  then  also  laboring  under 
great  difficulties  she  always  issued  triumphant  and  successful  when 
grappling  with  critical  questions.  Now,  we  consider  the  safety 
of  the  empire  handed  down  to  us  .  .  .  above  all  things  else; 
hence,  under  the  critical  conditions  of  things  now  pending,  we  have 
thrice  petitioned  her  Majesty  graciously  to  accede  to  our  prayer 
and  personally  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  her  wise  instructions  in  the 
government  of  the  empire.  She  has,  fortunately  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  officials  and  people  of  the  empire,  granted  our  request,  and 
from  to-day  onward  her  Majesty  will  conduct  the  affairs  of  state 
in  the  ordinary  throne  room." 

The  effect  of  this  change  was  great  and  instantaneous.  The 
dismissed  officials  were  reinstated  in  office,  the  temples  and  mon- 
asteries which  had  been  converted  into  schools  and  colleges  were 
restored  to  their  original  purposes,  the  consideration  of  a  national 
parliament  was  dismissed  to  the  Chinese  equivalent  of  the  Greek 
Kalends,  the  idea  of  changing  the  national  dress  was  peremptorily 
vetoed,  and  the  house  which  the  emperor  had  tried  to  sweep  and 


278  CHINA 

1898 

garnish  became  inhabited  by  spirits  more  perversely  reactionary 
than  those  which  had  originally  found  their  homes  there. 

With  vindictive  cruelty  the  triumphant  dowager  ordered  six 
of  the  prominent  reformers  to  execution  without  any  form  of  trial, 
and  K'ang  himself  only  escaped  death  by  a  precipitate  flight,  taken 
at  the  urgent  instance  of  the  emperor.  This  imperial  return  to  a 
reactionary  policy  was  speedily  reflected  in  the  provinces,  where 
everyone  who  was  in  ofiice,  or  who  was  discontented  at  not  being 
so,  gathered  to  the  new  regime,  and  entered  heart  and  soul  into  a 
war  against  all  reforms,  and  against  anything  which  could  be  sup- 
posed to  emanate  from  the  hated  foreigners.  The  results  of  this 
attitude  showed  themselves  in  many  ways  and  in  numerous  direc- 
tions. Missionary  establishments  were  attacked,  travelers  were 
assaulted,  and  no  opportunity  was  missed  of  pouring  contempt  and 
odium  on  the  "  foreign  devils."  Whether  in  the  metropolitan 
province  of  Chihli,  the  districts  of  Shantung,  or  the  outlying  ter- 
ritories of  Yunnan,  the  attitude  of  the  people  was  the  same,  and  it 
soon  became  obvious  that,  unless  a  change  were  brought  about,  a 
state  of  tension  would  arise  which  would  make  the  preservation  of 
peace  a  matter  of  doubt  and  difficulty. 

The  advisers  whom  the  empress  had  called  to  her  counsels  were 
naturally  those  who  took  her  view  of  politics,  though  not  all  were 
actuated  by  the  same  degree  of  hatred  of  reforms  and  foreigners. 
Prince  Ching,  an  uncle  of  the  emperor,  and  Yunglu,  the  generalis- 
simo of  the  Peking  forces,  were  men  of  comparatively  moderate 
views,  while  K'ang-yi  and  Tung  Fuhsiang  were  pronounced  irrecon- 
cilables.  It  was  K'ang-yi  who  had  persuaded  the  empress  to  order 
the  execution  of  the  six  reformers,  and  who,  with  indecent 
triumph,  himself  carried  the  fatal  warrant  to  the  court  where  the 
trial  was  about  to  be  held.  After  that  event  the  influence  of  this 
man  was  observable  throughout.  It  was  at  his  instigation  that 
most  of  the  hostile  edicts  were  issued,  and  though  the  voice  was 
the  empress's  voice  the  words  were  those  of  K'ang-yi.  In  his  earlier 
days,  K'ang-yi  had  made  proposals  for  improving  the  finances  of  the 
empire,  and  as  money  was  still  an  urgent  requirement  this  self- 
constituted  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  was  commissioned  to  visit 
the  richest  provinces  of  the  empire  for  the  purpose  of  extracting 
the  uttermost  farthing  that  it  was  possible  to  wring  from  the  peo- 
ple. A  certain  amount  of  success  attended  his  efforts,  more 
especially  in  that  Eldorado  of  China,  the  two  Kwang  provinces. 


THE   DOWAGER   EMPRESS 
riiotografh    from    life 


THE     BOXER     REBELLION  279 

1899 

where  he  succeeded  in  adding  a  considerable  sum  to  the  annual 
revenue  paid  into  the  treasury  of  Peking.  But  his  presence  was 
distasteful  to  the  great  viceroys  on  the  Yangtszekiang,  and  his 
threatening  manner,  which  earned  for  him  the  title  of  "  the  great 
extortioner,"  outraged  their  sense  of  the  respect  due  to  their  posi- 
tions. It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  anti-Boxer  attitude  of  these 
viceroys  may  partly  be  accounted  for  by  ill  will  created  by  Kang-i's 
visits.  But,  whatever  influence  his  presence  in  the  provinces  may 
have  effected,  his  absence  from  Peking  exercised  a  temporary 
moderating  bias  on  the  policy  of  the  dowager  empress.  Under  the 
wiser  influence  of  Prince  Ching  and  Yunglu  her  views  softened 
as  regards  the  vexed  questions  of  foreign  policy,  and  matters  went 
well  with  the  legations  and  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  The  lull,  how- 
ever, was  only  for  a  short  time.  With  the  return  of  Kang-i  to 
Peking  and  the  advent  on  the  scene  of  the  truculent  Tung  Fuh- 
siang,  the  anti-foreign  spirit  broke  out  again  with  renewed  vigor, 
and  ominous  rumors  became  rife  that  a  secret  scheme  was  afoot 
for  crushing  the  foreigners  in  the  country,  and  for  wresting  back 
the  territories  leased  to  the  powers.  With  a  strange  blindness, 
these  rumors  were  entirely  disregarded,  and  the  foreign  ministers 
scarcely  thought  them  worthy  of  being  reported  to  their  govern- 
ments. Begotten  by  ignorance,  and  wild  in  its  conception,  the 
scheme  was  yet  well  worthy  of  attention.  A  large  army  had  been 
collected  at  Peking,  consisting  of  72,000  men  under  the  command 
of  Prince  Tuan,  the  father  of  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  Tung 
Fuhsiang,  K'ang-yi,  Li  Pingheng,  formerly  governor  of  Shantung, 
and  others.  These  troops  were  all  well  armed,  and  drilled  suf- 
ficiently to  give  them  an  organization,  and  it  was  with  this  "  Army 
of  Avengers "  that  the  dowager  empress  designed  to  rid  the 
country  once  and  for  all  of  the  hated  presence  of  foreigners. 

Many  matters  had,  however,  to  be  considered.  There  had  for 
some  time  been  repeated  signs  of  revolutionary  movements  in  some 
of  the  provinces,  notably  in  Kwangtung,  and  it  was  felt  that  a 
strong  hand  was  needed  here  so  as  to  leave  the  confederates  free  to 
carry  out  their  plot  in  the  north.  Li  Hung  Chang  was  consequently 
appointed  viceroy  of  the  two  Kwang  provinces,  and  was  given  full 
power  to  carry  out  any  measures  which  he  might  deem  advisable. 
This  post  the  veteran  statesman  willingly  accepted,  being  doubt- 
less glad  to  be  out  of  the  way  when  the  storm  burst,  for  if  his  long 
experience  had  taught  him  anything,  it  had  taught  him  that  it  is 


280  CHINA 

1899 

futile  to  expect  Chinese  soldiers  to  contend  successfully  against  the 
troops  of  Europe.  Further,  an  excuse  was  needed  to  set  fire  to  the 
train  which  had  been  so  carefully  laid.  The  Chinese  have  no 
notion  of  declaring  war  on  a  question  of  policy.  They  prefer  the 
more  subtle  method  of  instigating  banditti  to  attack  the  foreign 
settlements,  in  the  hope  that  in  the  consequent  confusion  they  may 
find  their  opportunity.  This  plan  has  the  advantage  of  enabling 
them  in  event  of  defeat  to  disavow  the  onslaught  as  the  act  of 
rebels  whom  the  imperial  government  would  be  only  too  glad  to 
see  punished  for  their  offenses.  It  is  also  easy.  There  are  always 
associations,  secret  and  otherwise,  which  are  ready  and  willing  to 
plunder  their  neighbors'  goods  at  the  instigation  of  those  in 
authority.  On  this  occasion  the  lot  fell  on  the  "  Boxers,"  or 
"  Fists  of  righteous  harmony,"  as  the  Chinese  designation  signifies, 
and  with  alacrity  the  members  obeyed  the  call.  Associations  with 
similar  titles  have  long  existed  in  China,  and  they  differ  from  the 
Triad  and  more  dangerous  societies  in  that  they  have  always  pro- 
fessed fervent  loyalty  to  the  reigning  dynasty.  The  Boxers  were, 
therefore,  a  fit  instrument  for  the  empress's  use,  and  after  making 
full  and  exhaustive  inquiries  as  to  their  numbers,  equipment,  and 
the  sincerity  of  their  profession,  she  determined  to  employ  them. 
At  this  time  she  issued  two  edicts  which  marked  with  unerring 
distinction  the  parting  of  the  ways.  In  one  she  impressed  on  the 
local  officials  the  necessity  of  treating  the  Boxers  with  exceptional 
consideration  as  being  a  loyal  confederation  which  deserved  well 
of  the  country,  and  in  the  other  she  gave  the  provincial  viceroys 
authority  to  declare  war  on  their  own  initiative  against  foreigners, 
adding  strict  injunctions  that  they  were  to  oppose  at  any  cost  the 
least  encroachment  on  the  part  of  the  "  Foreign  Devils." 

The  effect  of  the  first  of  these  documents  was  exactly  what  was 
anticipated.  Crowds  flocked  to  the  banners  of  the  Boxers,  who 
emphasized  their  mission  by  attacking  isolated  and  defenseless 
Christian  communities  in  their  neighborhood.  As  their  numbers 
multiplied  their  courage  increased,  and  being  no  longer  content  to 
plunder  and  ravish  in  the  outlying  province  of  Shantung  they  took 
heart  of  grace  and  marched  northward  to  the  neighborhood  of  Pe- 
king. This  move  was  probably  undertaken  by  order.  At  least  it 
was  well  calculated  to  bring  about  the  state  of  things  desired  by 
the  empress.  Her  own  troops  were  quite  prepared  to  carry  out 
their  part  in  the  scheme  and,  under  the  congenial  leadership  of 


THE     BOXER     REBELLION  «81 

1900 

Prince  Tuan  and  K'ang-yi,  marched  out  to  meet  the  Boxers — 
nominally  as  foes,  but  in  reality  as  allies.  Without  crossing  swords 
or  firing  a  shot,  the  two  forces  amalgamated,  an  event  which  boded 
ill  to  the  foreign  communities  at  Tientsin  and  Peking.  Badly 
armed  and  quite  unorganized,  the  Boxers  by  themselves  were 
powerless  to  do  more  than  raid  and  plunder,  but  the  accession  to 
their  ranks  of  the  large  and  well-equipped  imperial  force  gave 
an  entirely  new  complexion  to  the  movement,  and  converted  a  mob 
into  an  army.  The  effect  of  this  change  instantly  became  apparent. 
Instead  of  sporadic  attacks  on  isolated  posts,  a  plan  of  campaign 
was  adopted,  and  strong  positions  in  the  country  between  Peking 
and  Taku  were  occupied  by  the  troops,  supported  by  their  irregular 
allies.  Tientsin  was  invested,  the  railway  between  that  place  and 
Peking  was  occupied,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  pour  large  rein- 
forcements into  the  Taku  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Fortu- 
nately, this  last  maneuver,  together  with  a  plan  for  placing  mines 
in  the  river,  was  forestalled  by  the  admirals  of  the  Allied  Powers, 
who  promptly  presented  an  ultimatum  to  the  commander  of  the 
forts  to  the  effect  that  any  such  action  would  be  regarded  as  an 
act  of  war.  Twenty-four  hours  were  allowed  the  commandant 
for  his  answer.  It  came  one  hour  short  of  the  allotted  time.  At 
one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  i8 — ^Waterloo  day — the  forts 
opened  fire  on  the  allied  fleets.  For  seven  hours  the  battle  raged, 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  the  forts  were  silenced,  and  a  detach- 
ment of  sailors  which  had  been  landed  carried  the  position  by 
assault. 

War  was  now  practically  declared,  and  the  Allied  admirals 
organized  a  force  in  the  field.  At  the  head  of  two  thousand  men 
Admiral  Seymour  marched  on  Tientsin,  and,  having  entered  that 
city,  started  northward  to  relieve  the  beleaguered  ministers  at 
Peking.  In  this  he  was  unsuccessful,  and  after  some  severe  fight- 
ing was  obliged  to  retire.  Meanwhile,  a  second  force  occupied 
Tientsin,  which  was  again  closely  invested  by  the  Chinese,  and  it 
was  only  by  the  arrival  of  a  strong  reinforcement  that  the  city  was 
relieved  from  the  pressure  of  the  enemy  on  June  23.  After  a  few 
hours'  rest,  a  portion  of  the  relieving  force  advanced  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Admiral  Seymour,  and,  having  effected  a  junction  with 
him,  returned  in  his  company  to  Tientsin. 

Meanwhile,  events  had  been  marching  apace  within  the  walls 
of  Peking.     On  June  16   the  dowager  empress  called  together  a 


CHINA 

1900 

council,  at  which  she  personally  presided,  and  which  she  opened 
with  these  ominous  words :  "  The  foreign  powers  have  brow- 
beaten and  persecuted  us  in  such  a  manner  that  we  cannot  endure 
it  any  longer.  We  must  therefore  combine  to  fight  all  foreigners 
to  the  last,  to  save  our  *  face '  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  All  our 
Manchu  princes,  dukes,  nobles,  and  ministers,  high  and  low,  are 
unanimous  in  the  determination  of  war  to  the  knife,  and  I  approve 
of  their  patriotic  choice.  I  therefore  give  you  all  this  announce- 
ment, and  expect  all  to  do  their  duty  to  their  country."  This 
truculent  address  gave  the  keynote  to  the  council,  where,  however, 
at  first,  the  Chinese  members  attempted  to  stem  the  current  of 
Manchu  hatred.  But  the  decree  had  gone  forth,  and  after  some 
debate,  in  which  the  emperor  took  part,  always  on  the  side  of 
peaceful  measures,  it  was  determined  to  support  the  Boxers  with 
imperial  troops  in  their  war  against  foreigners.  Four  days  later, 
June  20,  Baron  von  Ketteler,  the  German  minister,  was  mur- 
dered in  the  streets  of  Peking  when  on  his  way  to  visit  the 
Tsungli  Yamen.  This  act,  which  was  the  direct  outcome  of  the 
council  of  the  i6th,  was  speedily  followed  up  by  still  more  violent 
measures.  On  the  21st  a  decree  was  issued  ordering  Yunglu,  as 
generalissimo  of  the  grand  army  of  the  north,  to  enter  Peking 
and  formally  to  attack  the  legations.  Against  this  step  the  em- 
peror protested  on  his  knees,  but  his  advice  was  ignored,  and  the 
command  was  issued  and  obeyed. 

Two  Chinese  ministers,  Hsii  and  Yiian,  who  had  strenuously 
resisted  the  warlike  policy  of  the  empress,  were  at  this  time,  and 
for  no  other  offense,  beheaded  without  trial,  and  a  reign  of  terror 
ensued.  Edicts  appeared  in  quick  succession  ordering  the  indis- 
criminate massacre  of  all  foreigners  in  the  country,  and  in  many 
parts  every  effort  was  made  to  carry  out  this  bloodthirsty  decree. 
In  Shansi,  the  governor,  Yu  Hsien,  who  was  an  extreme  reaction- 
ary, collected  as  many  missionaries  and  others  as  were  within  reach, 
and  set  an  example  to  his  executioners  by  cutting  down  a  number 
of  victims  with  his  own  hand.  But  there  were  some  conspicuous 
exceptions.  The  two  great  viceroys  on  the  Yangtszekiang,  Chang 
Chihtung  and  Liu  Kaunzi,  together  with  Tuanfang,  the  Manchu 
governor  of  Shensi,  took  upon  themselves  the  responsibility  of  dis- 
obeying the  decree.  And  not  only  so,  but  they  directed  their  sub- 
ordinates to  protect  and  befriend  all  foreigners  residing  in  their 
districts.    The  result  of  this  humane  and  independent  conduct  was 


THE     BOXER     REBELLION  288 

1900 

that  not  a  single  foreigfner  lost  his  Hfe  in  the  five  provinces  under 
the  control  of  these  true  patriots. 

The  siege  of  the  legations  was  now  formally  entered  upon. 
Barricades  were  thrown  up  on  the  city  walls  and  in  the  streets,  and 
a  close  cordon  was  drawn  round  the  legation  area.  Guns  were 
mounted,  and  riflemen  occupied  every  position  from  which  they 
could  attack  and  harass  the  besieged.  Meanwhile,  the  foreigners, 
with  the  assistance  of  several  hundred  native  Christians,  whose 
admission  within  the  walls  had  been  at  first  discountenanced  by  the 
British  minister,  threw  up  hasty  defenses,  and  armed  themselves 
with  every  weapon  obtainable.  The  center  of  this  defense  was 
the  British  legation,  which  was  the  largest  foreign  residence  in  the 
capital  and  which  was  manned  by  the  greatest  number  of  de- 
fenders. For  nearly  two  months  this  and  the  other  buildings  were 
subjected  to  a  constant  fire  of  guns  and  rifles,  and  the  only  marvel 
is  that  one  stone  was  left  standing  on  another,  or  that  a  single 
occupant  should  have  survived.  If  the  Chinese  troops  had  brought 
into  action  all  the  guns  at  their  disposal,  or  if  they  had  assaulted 
the  defenses  they  must  have  destroyed  the  garrison.  But  through- 
out the  siege  some  power  appeared  to  be  holding  them  back.  It 
was  observed  that  on  several  occasions  when  the  Chinese  gunners 
succeeded  in  getting  the  effective  range  and  direction  they  with- 
drew the  g^n  or  guns;  and  while  they  brought  into  action  only 
weapons  of  a  comparatively  antiquated  pattern,  it  was  discovered 
after  the  siege  was  over  that  they  were  in  possession  of  a  large 
supply  of  guns  of  the  newest  and  most  approved  design.  There 
was  plainly  displayed  a  desire  not  to  carry  the  attack  to  extremities 
lest  the  government  should  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  re- 
pentance. The  destruction  wrought,  however,  by  the  hostilities  was 
extensive  and  thorough.  Fire,  the  great  enemy  on  such  occasions, 
carried  havoc  through  the  streets.  Whole  districts  were  destroyed 
by  flames,  and  some  of  the  richest  parts  of  the  city  were  laid 
desolate.  The  great  danger  which  beset  the  British  and  the  other 
legations  was  that  the  surrounding  flames  should  spread  to  their 
buildings,  and  for  the  sake  of  protection  it  became  necessary  in 
many  cases  to  destroy  the  neighboring  houses.  Close  to  the  wall 
of  the  British  legation  stood  the  Hanlin  college,  the  most  vener- 
able home  of  literature  in  the  empire,  and  the  depository  of  a  price- 
less collection  of  books  and  manuscripts.  Its  proximity,  however, 
constituted  a  danger,  and  a  proposal,  in  the  interest  of  the  legation, 


284  CHINA 

1900 

was  made  to  demolish  it.  This,  in  view  of  its  great  antiquity, 
the  British  minister  could  not  bring  himself  to  sanction.  But  he 
might  have  spared  his  scruples,  for  a  few  days  later  the  Chinese 
deliberately  set  fire  to  its  ancient  halls  and  library.  In  a  few  hours 
the  destruction  was  complete,  and  nothing  remained  of  its  con- 
tents but  a  few  volumes,  which  were  saved  by  the  exertion  of 
members  of  the  legation. 

During  the  siege  many  attempts  were  made  to  induce  the 
foreign  ministers  and  their  staffs  to  leave  their  entrenchments. 
They  were  invited  to  take  refuge  in  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  where, 
they  were  assured,  they  would  be  perfectly  safe ;  at  another  time  an 
ultimatum  was  presented  to  them,  ordering  them  to  leave  the 
capital  within  twenty- four  hours;  and  later  an  imperial  edict  was 
published,  offering  them  a  safe  conduct  to  Tientsin.  Happily,  they 
refused  to  yield  to  these  threats  and  inducements,  and  preferred 
to  defend  the  walls  of  the  legations  rather  than  trust  themselves 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Chinese.  One  of  the  most  infamous 
features  of  the  crisis  was  that  at  the  very  time  when  this  attack  on 
the  foreign  position  was  being  most  actively  pressed  Lo  Fengluh 
was  assuring  Lord  Salisbury  that  the  Chinese  Government  was 
"  giving  effective  protection  to  the  British  legation " ;  and  Wu 
Ting  Fang  was  making  similar  protestations  at  Washington.  So 
close  were  the  besieging  lines  held  that  for  many  weeks  no  com- 
munication passed  between  the  legations  and  the  outer  world,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  loth  of  August  that  definite  news  of  the 
approach  of  the  cosmopolitan  relief  expedition  reached  the 
beleaguered  garrison.  This  news  was  speedily  verified,  and  on 
August  14  the  troops  entered  the  city.  "  We  knew,"  writes  Mr. 
Stanley  Smith,  one  of  the  besieged,  "  that  the  allies  would  advance 
in  separate  columns,  and  we  were  on  the  qui  vive  of  excitement, 
knowing  that  any  moment  now  the  troops  might  arrive.  Luncheon, 
the  hard  luncheon  of  horseflesh,  came  on,  and  we  had  just  finished 
when  the  cry  rang  through  the  legations,  '  The  British  are  com- 
ing !  *  and  there  was  a  rush  to  the  entrance  and  up  Canal  Street 
toward  the  water  gate.  The  stalwart  forms  of  the  general  and  his 
staff  were  entering  by  the  water  gate,  followed  by  the  ist  regiment 
of  Sikhs  and  the  7th  Rajputs.  They  passed  down  Canal  Street, 
and  amid  a  scene  of  indescribable  emotion  marched  to  the  British 
legation.     The  siege  had  been  raised." 

.With  the  cessation  of  hostilities  began  the  far  more  difficult 


THE     BOXER     REBELLION  286 

1900 

task  of  arranging  terms  of  peace.  The  indignation  of  the  whole 
civilized  world  had  been  aroused  at  the  atrocities  which  had  been 
committed  on  the  persons  and  property  of  foreigners.  Besides 
those  who  had  lost  their  lives  in  the  course  of  the  campaign,  it  was 
brought  to  light  that  two  hundred  and  forty  men,  women,  and 
children  in  the  interior  of  the  country  had  been  massacred  under 
circumstances  of  great  brutality,  and  that  the  same  fate  had  over- 
taken no  fewer  than  30,000  native  Christians.  In  no  way  did  the 
Chinese  Government  show  that  it  realized  the  heinousness  of  the 
offenses  of  which  its  agents  had  been  guilty,  and  with  a  light  heart 
it  expressed  desire  for  a  return  to  the  former  friendly  relations 
which  had  existed.  Prince  Ching  and  Li  Hung  Chang  were  ap- 
pointed plenipotentiaries,  and  were  ordered  to  proceed  at  once  to 
the  conclusion  of  terms  of  peace. 

Meanwhile,  the  court  had  fled  to  Hsian  Fu,  in  the  province  of 
Shansi,  and  the  foreign  plenipotentiaries  found  their  task  of  arrang- 
ing suitable  terms  of  peace  much  complicated  by  the  desertion  of 
his  capital  by  the  emperor.  To  the  Chinese  request  for  a  speedy 
conclusion  of  a  convention,  the  foreign  ministers  replied  by  in- 
sisting on  the  infliction  of  suitable  punishments  on  those  officials 
who  had  been  responsible  for  the  Boxer  outbreak  and  the  con- 
sequent outrages,  as  a  preliminary  to  all  negotiations.  This  was 
conceded,  and  it  was  arranged  that  Prince  Tuan,  Duke  Lan,  and 
General  Tung  Fuhsiang  should  be  sentenced  to  decapitation,  it 
being  understood  that  these  sentences  would  be  commuted  to 
banishment  for  life;  that  Prince  Chuang  and  two  others  were  to 
be  strangled ;  that  Ch'ihsiu  and  Hsii  Ch'engyii  were  to  be  beheaded 
at  Peking ;  and  that  Yii  Hsien  was  to  suffer  the  same  fate.  Besides 
these  officials,  several  others  in  the  provinces  were  executed  for 
their  offenses. 

This  matter  having  been  conceded  on  December  21  and  22, 
1900,  the  following  conditions  were  further  formulated  in  a  joint 
note  by  the  foreign  ministers:  (i)  That  an  indemnity  should  be 
paid;  (2)  that  the  Taku  forts  should  be  dismantled;  (3)  that  a 
monument  should  be  set  up  to  Baron  von  Ketteler  on  the  spot 
where  the  German  minister  had  been  assassinated;  (4)  that  stone 
tablets  should  be  erected  wherever  missionaries  had  been  mur- 
dered; (5)  that  the  importation  of  arms  into  the  country  should 
be  prohibited;  (6)  that  the  legation  guards  should  be  strengthened, 
and  permanent  troops  established  to  keep  open  the  road  to  Tien- 


286  CHINA 

1900 

tsin;  (7)  that  the  Tsungli  Yamen  should  be  abolished;  and  (8) 
that  the  ministers  should  have  direct  access  to  the  emperor.  These 
terms  provoked  considerable  discussion,  and  differences  of  opinion 
were  expressed  on  the  points  raised  among  some  of  the  foreign 
negotiators.  But  the  feeling  of  unanimity  was  in  the  main  marred 
only  by  the  representative  of  Russia.  That  power  had,  since  the 
occupation  of  Port  Arthur,  been  steadily  strengthening  her 
position  in  Manchuria,  and  in  return  for  her  good  offices  at  the 
council  board  at  Peking  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  agreed  to 
give  her  practically  a  free  hand  in  that  dependency.  They  even 
went  the  length  of  acceding  to  the  terms  of  a  convention  by  which 
the  whole  administration  of  the  country  was  to  be  transferred  to 
the  representatives  of  the  Czar.  Happily,  the  publication  in  the 
London  Times  of  this  document  aroused  the  susceptibilities  of  the 
other  treaty  powers,  and  as  the  result  of  their  urgent  remon- 
strances the  emperor  finally  declined  to  sign  the  agreement. 

On  December  4,  1900,  the  ministers  met  in  conference  and 
agreed  to  various  amendments  in  the  terms  of  the  "  Conjoint 
Note "  proposed  by  the  American  minister.  The  term  "  death 
penalty  "  as  demanded  for  the  guilty  Chinese  officials  was  made  to 
read  "  the  most  severe  punishment  befitting  their  crimes."  Dis- 
cussion and  delays  on  other  points  arose,  but  on  December  24  the 
note  was  signed  and  presented  to  Prince  Ching.  The  conditions 
were  accepted  and  signed  by  Prince  Ching  and  Li  Hung  Chang,  and 
on  January  14,  1901,  the  peace  protocol  was  signed  at  Peking. 

The  indemnity  was  fixed  at  450,000,000  of  Hai-kuan  taels  * 
and  stipulations  also  provided  for  the  razing  of  the  Taku  forts  and 
others  that  might  impede  free  communication  between  Peking  and 
the  sea.  Article  IX  of  the  treaty  provided  for  the  right  of  oc- 
cupancy by  the  powers  of  points  affording  means  of  access  between 
the  capital  and  the  coast. 

Thus  by  the  satisfactory  compliance  with  the  conditions  laid 
down  in  the  note  of  December  22,  1900,  was  terminated  the  inter- 
national complication  created  by  the  Boxer  Rebellion.  Since  then, 
evidences  are  not  wanting  to  show  that  there  is  growing  up,  even  at 
the  Court,  a  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  reforms.  Imperial 
edicts  have  been  published,  sanctioning  progressive  measures,  and 
a  strong  feeling  exists  in  the  country  that  it  is  only  by  the  adoption 
of  European  ideas  and  western  methods  of  administration  that 
China  can  be  saved  from  ruin  and  decay. 

^  A  Hai-kuan  tael  is  estimated  efliuivalent  to  0.742  (gold)  dollar. 


LATE  EVENTS   AND    PRESENT   CONDITIONS 


By  Jeremiah  W.  Jenks,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. 
Professor  of  Political  Economy  and  Politics,  Cornell  University 


Chapter    XV 

THE  COUP  D'l^TAT  OF  1898 

FOR  ten  or  fifteen  years  before  1900  many  of  the  younger 
and  more  enterprising  Chinese,  especially  some  of  those 
who  from  their  studies  abroad  had  learned  something  of 
Western  progress,  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  Chinese 
Government  ought  to  adopt  more  liberal  ideas  and  that  Western 
learning  should  be  given  a  greater  place  in  the  education  of  the 
Chinese.  Even  the  young  emperor  had  come  into  touch  with  these 
proposals,  and,  with  an  eagerness  scarcely  to  be  expected  from  one 
in  his  position,  he  determined  to  familiarize  himself  with  this  new 
learning.  Eunuchs  were  sent  from  the  palace  to  the  missionary- 
bookstores  in  Peking,  and  many  books  in  the  English  language  as 
well  as  others  in  Chinese  which  gave  an  account  of  the  new  learn- 
ing were  purchased  for  the  emperor's  personal  use,  especially  the 
books  published  by  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and 
General  Knowledge  among  the  Chinese.  Even  copies  of  the  Bible 
were  purchased,  and  it  was  well  known  that  the  emperor  was 
making  an  earnest  effort  to  study  the  tenets  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. It  was  even  rumored  that  he  wished  to  become  a  Christian. 
Realizing  also  that  the  best  works  were  not  to  be  found  in  the 
Chinese  language,  he  undertook  the  study  of  English  under  the 
instruction  of  two  Chinese  who  had  been  pupils  of  Dr.  W.  A.  P. 
Martin  at  the  Imperial  University,  though  as  they  did  not  venture 
to  correct  his  mistakes  and  knelt  as  they  taught  him,  his  progress 
may  well  have  been  slow. 

After  he  had  formally  taken  charge  of  the  government  of  the 
empire,  he  wished  to  put  these  reform  ideas  into  effect ;  but,  trained 

Note:  In  the  preparation  of  these  chapters  special  use  has  been  made  of 
"Europe  and  the  Far  East,"  by  Robert  K.  Douglas,  the  author  of  this  history; 
"China  in  Convulsion,"  by  Arthur  H.  Smith;  "China  Under  the  Searchlight," 
by  William  A.  Cornaby;  and  "China  and  Her  People,"  by  Charles  Denby.  The 
opinions  expressed  regarding  present  conditions  and  tendencies  come  largely 
from  conversations  and  correspondence  with  many  people,  Chinese  and  foreign- 
ers, who  have  been  long  familiar  with  China  and  her  people. 

289 


t 


2290  CHINA 

as  he  had  been  in  the  palace,  surrounded  with  courtiers,  accus- 
tomed to  believe  that  his  will  was  law,  with  comparatively  little 
knowledge  of  the  outside  world,  with  no  experience  which  would 
lead  him  to  see  the  futility  of  attempting-  to  reform  off-hand  by 
decree  the  manners  and  customs  of  a  great  people  like  the  Chinese, 
he  naturally  attempted  more  than  was  wise.  He  gathered  about 
him  a  small  group  of  advisers,  in  some  instances  men  rather  of 
noble  intentions  than  of  mature  discretion,  and  began  promptly  his 
reform  work.  K'ang  Yuwei,  who  had  secured  the  title  at  Canton 
of  the  "modem  sage  and  reformer,"  had  made  himself  so  well 
known  by  his  publications  and  discussions  that  his  fame  had  reached 
the  capital.  Some  of  the  men  in  the  palace,  especially  the  em- 
peror's old  tutor,  had  become  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  his  pro- 
posals, and  through  their  influence  his  recommendations  were 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  emperor.  K'ang  was  sent  for  to 
appear  before  the  emperor  and  explain  his  views,  although  as  a 
precautionary  and  preliminary  measure,  the  old  board  of  foreign 
affairs,  the  Tsungli  Yamen,  had  first  a  conference  with  him  in 
which  he  explained  his  views  in  some  detail.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  government  were  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  his  plans ; 
but  both  Yunglu,  a  reactionary  but  ambitious  Manchu  who  later 
came  to  the  head  of  the  Boxer  movement,  and  also  Prince  Kung,  the 
wise  uncle  of  the  emperor,  who  had  for  many  years  represented 
the  best  elements  of  conservative  progress  in  the  empire,  opposed  the 
rapid  adoption  of  the  measures  proposed  on  the  ground  that 
the  empire  was  not  yet  ready  for  such  sweeping  changes  and  that 
progress  must  be  slow.  Against  the  advice  of  the  prince,  however, 
the  emperor  issued  one  after  the  other  a  number  of  decrees  which 
were  practically  revolutionary  in  their  tendency. 

In  the  first  place,  as  was  natural,  the  emperor  had  been  greatly 
humiliated  by  the  result  of  the  war  with  Japan  and  had  reached 
the  conclusion,  in  which  even  the  prince  joined,  that  China  must 
establish  a  military  system  which  would  give  her  in  the  near  future 
an  army  which  would  prevent  the  further  aggressions  of  any  of 
the  powers. 

With  the  reform  of  the  military  system  was  to  go  also  the 
reform  of  education.  The  emperor  had  become  convinced  that 
the  time-honored  system  of  education  in  the  Chinese  classics  was 
without  solid  foundation  for  modem  use.  He  called  attention  to 
the  difference  between  the  practical  methods  of  Western  countries 


THE     COUP     D'ETAT     OF     1898  291 

1898 

and  the  antiquated  methods  of  China ;  to  the  great  wealth  and  mili- 
tary strength  which  had  been  the  result  of  Western  methods  of 
training  as  compared  with  the  weakness  and  impractical  work  of 
the  Chinese,  and  ordered  the  adoption  of  the  Western  organization 
of  the  army,  the  adoption  of  Western  arms,  and  the  training  of  the 
army  under  foreign  instructors  after  Western  models.  Further- 
more, he  ordered  the  establishment  of  schools  from  the  elementary 
grades  through  college  courses,  similar  to  those  found  in  foreign 
countries;  all  of  this  with  the  thought  that  through  the  new  edu- 
cation would  come  increased  wealth  and  power  for  China  which 
would  carry  her  far  on  the  path  of  progress. 

Under  the  advice  of  K'ang  Yuwei  the  literary  essay  was  abol- 
ished as  the  basis  of  the  examinations  for  study  in  the  civil  service ; 
the  officials  were  rebuked  for  not  building  more  promptly  the  rail- 
way lines  already  projected;  and  the  government  was  ordered  to 
provide  for  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  agriculture,  and  for 
a  system  of  copyright  and  patent  laws.  The  Imperial  University 
was  reorganized  with  Dr.  Martin  at  the  head  of  the  faculty.  There 
was  established  at  Shanghai  a  translation  bureau  for  putting  into 
Chinese  the  standard  books  on  science,  literature,  and  the  arts,  and 
in  general  every  possible  effort  was  made  to  secure  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  all  of  the  advantages  which  Western  nations 
seemed  to  enjoy. 

The  immediate  result  of  these  decrees,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, was  almost  startling.  At  first  the  people  seemed  to  accept 
them  with  satisfaction.  Newspapers  sprang  up  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  which  rapidly  attained  a  wide  circulation.  Books  on 
educational,  scientific,  and  religious  subjects  were  published,  widely 
circulated,  and  read,  while  societies  were  instituted  everywhere  for 
the  propagation  of  the  new  learning. 

Anxious  to  secure  as  rapidly  as  possible  the  benefits  of  sug- 
gestions from  everyone  with  progressive  ideas,  permission  was 
given  by  the  emperor  to  secretaries  and  officials  of  lower  rank  to 
memorialize  the  throne  directly  through  their  superior  officers. 
Some  of  the  younger  officials,  in  consequence,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  prepared  memorials  advocating  the  adoption  of  measures 
even  more  revolutionary  than  those  already  proposed  and  which, 
if  put  into  effect,  would  have  touched  most  closely  the  personal 
habits  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people.  For  example,  a  certain 
Wang  Chao  proposed  the  abolition  of  the  queue,  the  adoption  of 


CHINA 

1898 

European  dress,  the  establishment  of  a  parliament  along  Western 
lines,  and  suggested  even  that  the  empress  dowager  and  emperor 
make  a  visit  to  Japan  in  order  to  inspect  there  the  results  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Western  learning.  When  the  older  and  more  con- 
servative members  of  the  government  attempted  to  suppress  these 
memorials,  or  even,  although  they  were  not  suppressed,  to  meet 
them  with  counter-proposals  and  to  rebuke  the  younger  men  for 
their  rashness,  the  emperor  immediately  took  the  side  of  the  radi- 
cals and  even  went  so  far  as  to  degrade  men  of  high  position  for 
no  offense  greater  than  that  of  attempting  to  uphold  their  own 
more  conservative  views  in  opposition  to  those  of  the  younger  men. 
Among  others,  Li  Hung  Chang  was  accused  of  opposing  the  em- 
peror's views,  and  was  dismissed  from  his  office  in  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Affairs. 

Naturally  these  extreme  measures  met  with  opposition,  and 
that  of  the  most  vigorous  type.  When  it  became  evident  that  un- 
less some  check  were  placed  upon  the  young  emperor,  the  older 
officials  would  lose  their  positions  and  might  even  meet  with  a 
worse  fate,  a  number  of  the  more  influential  ones  sent  a  memorial 
to  the  empress  dowager  calling  her  attention  to  the  grave  dangers 
which  surrounded  the  empire  and  urging  her  personally  to  take 
prompt  measures  to  save  the  country,  even  if  it  should  be  necessary 
in  order  to  do  so  to  put  down  the  reformers  and  depose  the  em- 
peror. One  censor,  acting  with  the  malcontents,  pointed  out  in 
detail  the  dangers  which  were  threatening  the  country  through 
the  introduction  of  Western  civilization,  and  urged  that  if  the  for- 
eign influence  continued  dominant  at  court  the  dynasty  would  be 
seriously  threatened.  He  also  urged  upon  the  empress  dowager 
the  necessity  of  seizing  the  government  in  order  to  save  the  empire. 

As  might  have  been  expected  she  was  personally  ready  for  an 
energetic  movement.  A  woman  of  so  great  ambition  as  the  em- 
press dowager  and  one  who  had  for  many  years  held  the  reins  of 
power  under  the  nominal  rule,  first  of  her  husband  and  later  of 
her  son,  was  naturally  not  averse  to  again  taking  the  position 
of  absolute  control  which  she  had  surrendered  when  the  young 
emperor  became  of  age,  particularly  since  these  reform  measures 
were  directly  in  opposition  to  her  own  views  and  amounted  prac- 
tically to  a  censure  of  her  previous  administration.  Furthermore, 
however  much  we  may  disapprove  of  the  methods  employed  by  the 
empress  dowager,  we  do  not  need  to  question  that  she  may  have 


THE     COUP     D'ETAT     OF     1898  293 

1898 

been  acting-,  in  part  at  least,  from  patriotic  motives,  and  sincerely 
believed  that  the  good  of  the  empire  was  at  stake.  Even  when  we 
question  the  methods  employed  by  her,  we  must  realize  that  the 
emperor  himself  was  employing  methods  scarcely  less  censurable. 
In  consequence  of  the  threatening  conditions,  she  summoned  a 
meeting  of  all  the  princes,  dukes,  and  nobles  of  the  imperial  clan 
to  take  up  the  question  of  deposing  the  emperor  and  removing  his 
advisers. 

The  emperor  soon  learned  of  the  opposition  to  his  plans,  and 
knew  that  if  he  were  to  succeed  it  was  necessary  that  there  be  re- 
moved every  possibility  of  the  empress  dowager  heading  the 
opposition.  He  therefore  turned  his  attention  to  the  removal  of 
Yunglu,  who  was  known  to  be  in  reality  the  head  of  the  opposition. 

Yuan  Shih  Kai,  later  governor  of  Shantung  and  now  the 
powerful  viceroy  of  Chihli,  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  northern 
army  and  was  a  man  on  whom  the  emperor  thought  he  could  rely, 
as  he  had  been  the  exponent  of  many  progressive  ideas  when  repre- 
senting the  government  in  Korea,  and  was  apparently  one  of  the 
progressive  and  advanced  men  in  the  empire.  He  therefore  secretly 
sent  him  orders  to  seize  and  behead  Yunglu,  at  that  time  viceroy 
at  Tientsin;  then  to  come  to  Peking  at  the  head  of  his  army,  to 
surround  the  palace  of  the  empress  dowager  and  make  her  a  pris- 
oner. But  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  progressive  as  he  is,  evidently  felt  that 
he  had  better  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  other  side.  In  consequence, 
instead  of  arresting  and  beheading  Yunglu,  he  showed  him  his 
orders  and  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  escape.  Yunglu  went 
promptly  to  Peking,  sought  an  audience  with  the  empress  dowager, 
and  explained  in  detail  the  situation.  She  went  at  once  in  person 
to  the  emperor's  palace,  upbraided  him  bitterly  for  his  actions,  de- 
clared that  he  was  but  an  "  unsophisticated  child,"  ordered  him  to 
his  apartments,  and  declared  that  she  must  resume  the  control  in 
order  to  save  the  empire  which  he,  in  his  foolishness  and  rashness, 
was  doing  his  best  to  destroy. 

The  emperor  had  barely  time  to  warn  K'ang  Yuwei  of  the 
failure  of  their  plans  and  of  his  personal  danger.  K'ang  himself 
escaped  to  a  British  man-of-war  and  was  taken  to  Hongkong. 
His  brother,  however,  and  five  of  the  other  reformers  were  cap- 
tured and  ordered  to  an  immediate  trial.  Before  the  formal  trial 
could  be  held,  however,  K'ang-yi,  one  of  her  most  active  servitors, 
presented  an  edict  just  issued  by  the  empress  dowager  which  or- 


294  CHINA 

1899 

dered  them  to  instant  execution.  One  of  them,  Tau  Tze-tung, 
who  had  been  the  emissary  of  the  emperor  to  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  as 
he  went  to  execution  with  his  friends,  in  the  spirit  of  the  martyr 
prophesied :  "  They  may  kill  my  body,  but  for  each  man  killed 
there  will  be  a  thousand  others  in  whom  my  spirit  shall  live."  In- 
asmuch as  the  Manchu  customs  fofbid  that  swords  shall  be  used 
within  the  palace  itself,  fifty-three  of  the  emperor's  eunuchs  who 
were  known  to  sympathize  with  the  reformers  were  beaten  to 
death,  while  others  who  were  seized  elsewhere  were  beheaded. 
Those  who  escaped  had  a  price  placed  upon  their  heads.  The 
emperor,  it  is  said,  appealed  to  the  British  legation  for  protection, 
but  without  avail.  It  is  even  reported  that  he  succeeded  in  evading 
the  guards  of  the  empress  dowager  on  that  night  and  came  alone 
to  the  gates  of  the  American  legation,  asking  for  protection.  The 
minister  himself  was  not  in  the  city,  and  the  emperor  could  not 
gain  admittance.  At  any  rate  he  was  ultimately  left  to  the  mercy 
of  the  court.  Some  of  the  empress's  advisers,  Yunglu  among  them, 
urged  that  he  be  executed,  while  others,  fearing  the  effect  of 
such  an  act  upon  the  people,  recommended  that  he  merely  be  de- 
posed. Completely  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  the  emperor  sur- 
rendered at  once  on  request  the  great  seal  and  remained  quietly 
a  prisoner  at  court.  Under  the  great  seal  edicts  were  issued  can- 
celing the  reform  edicts  providing  for  the  punishment  of  those  who 
had  urged  that  they  be  put  into  effect  and  instituting  a  government 
along  the  former  lines. 

The  Chinese  are  very  ready,  as  a  rule,  to  respond  to  suggestion. 
When  the  emperor  was  pushing  forward  his  reforms,  the  people, 
with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  reactionary  officials  whose  posi- 
tions would  certainly  have  been  forfeited,  were  ready  to  follow  his 
leadership.  With  his  fall  and  the  triumph  of  the  reactionaries, 
there  came  about  apparently  a  complete  revulsion  in  feeling.  The 
liberal  papers  were,  of  course,  promptly  suppressed.  When  the  gov- 
ernment went  further  and  called  attention  to  the  dangers  of  the 
reform  movement  which  had  just  been  suppressed  and  character- 
ized it  as  a  policy  led  by  foreigners  against  the  traditions  of  the 
Chinese  sages  and  one  which  was  in  essence  anti-Chinese,  the  peo- 
ple responded  promptly  with  an  apparent  revival  of  pro-Chinese 
feeling  and  hatred  o£  the  foreigner  and  his  ways.  But  although 
the  people  were  apparently  ready  enough  to  give  up  their  reform 
movement  and  though,  as  we  shall  see,  they  were  seemingly  eager 


THE     COUP     D'ETAT    OF     1898  295 

1900 

to  join  the  Boxer  movement  which  was  soon  started  up  by  the 
empress  dowager  and  the  court  for  the  purpose  of  "  driving  the  for- 
eigners into  the  sea,"  they  still  did  not  relish  the  high-handed  pro- 
ceedings by  which  the  emperor,  the  Son  of  Heaven,  had  been  de- 
posed. There  was  great  unrest  throughout  the  country,  which  was 
much  aggravated  by  a  drought  which  brought  about  a  famine  in 
certain  regions,  and  this  suffering  led  many  of  the  people  to  feel 
that  the  empress  dowager  had  called  down  upon  the  country  the 
displeasure  of  heaven  by  her  deposition  of  the  emperor.  Partly  to 
meet  this  feeling  of  hostility,  partly  to  further  better  her  own  plans 
and  those  of  her  chief  advisers,  Yunglu  and  Prince  Tuan,  an  edict 
was  issued,  signed  by  the  emperor,  in  which  it  was  stated  that 
"  finding  that  there  was  no  probability  or  even  possibility  of  his 
having  a  child,  he  had  besought  the  empress  dowager  to  select 
some  suitable  person  to  be  adopted  as  heir  to  the  Emperor  T'ung 
Chih."  It  was  also  stated  that  after  repeated  urging  on  his  part, 
she  had  nominated  P'u  Chiin  to  be  the  heir-apparent.  P'u  Chiin 
was  a  son  of  Prince  Tuan  and  a  boy  of  nine  years  of  age,  so  that 
on  his  acceptance  she  would  have  been  given  another  lease  of  power 
until  he  became  of  age;  but  the  people  protested.  Remonstrances 
came  from  Shanghai,  Siam,  and  elsewhere,  signed  by  thousands  of 
Chinese,  some  of  them  containing  threats  that  they  would  come  in 
arms  to  fight  in  behalf  of  their  deposed  emperor  if  this  act  were 
not  reversed.  So  vigorous  was  the  protest  that  the  question  of  a 
successor  to  the  throne  was  dropped,  the  emperor  nominally  re- 
tained his  imperial  throne,  and  as  a  result  of  the  reversal  of  the 
policy  consequent  upon  the  Boxer  movement,  the  question  has  not 
since  been  raised. 

For  the  time  being  the  plots  of  Yunglu  and  the  empress 
dowager  seemed  to  have  succeeded.  But  emboldened  and  deceived 
by  the  apparent  ease  of  their  success,  they  continued  their  acts  of 
hostility  against  the  foreigners  until  they  culminated  in  the  siege 
of  the  legations  in  1900. 


Chapter   XVI 

THE  BOXER  MOVEMENT.     1898-1903 

IN  a  preceding  chapter  the  seizure  of  Kiaochow  by  the  Ger- 
mans has  been  described,  the  occupation  and  leasing  of  Port 
Arthur  by  the  Russians,  of  Wei-hai-wei  by  the  English,  as 
well  as  of  the  bay  of  Kwangchow  by  the  French.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  this  occupation  of  territory  by  the  foreigners,  practically 
by  force  though  under  the  form  of  a  lease,  had  produced  a  pro- 
found impression  in  China,  especially  among  the  officials  and  better 
read  persons  of  the  literary  class.  Possibly  the  Chinese  who  had 
been  educated  abroad  felt  the  disgrace  to  their  country  and  the 
helplessness  of  the  government  more  than  any  others.  Nowhere 
else  had  the  seizure  of  territory  been  apparently  so  unprovoked 
and  so  contrary  to  all  forms  of  international  intercourse  and  all 
principles  of  international  law  as  the  seizure  of  Kiaochow  Bay  in 
the  province  of  Shantung  by  the  Germans.  The  occupancy  of 
Port  Arthur  by  the  Russians  had  been  under  the  form  of  a  lease, 
without  military  demonstration,  and  that  of  the  British  had  been 
similarly  accomplished  by  peaceful  means;  but  Kiaochow  had  been 
seized  by  force;  and  though  the  form  had  afterward  been  deter- 
mined to  be  that  of  a  lease,  the  Chinese  felt,  and  with  reason,  that 
they  had  been  deprived  of  the  territory  by  force  of  arms.  It  was 
perhaps  natural  on  this  account  that  the  anti-foreign  movement 
should  first  become  most  pronounced  in  the  province  of  Shantung. 
Among  the  many  societies  which  are  semi-religious,  semi- 
social,  in  China,  was  that  of  the  so-called  Boxers,  which  had  been 
in  existence  for  many  years,  but  which  first  took  on  a  special  politi- 
cal significance  under  the  direction  of  the  anti-foreign  officials.  A 
little  over  a  month  after  the  success  of  the  coup  d'etat  which  placed 
the  empress  dowager  in  power,  on  November  5,  1898,  an  edict  was 
issued  which  ordered  the  formation  of  volunteer  corps,  sometimes 
called  the  Righteous  Harmony  Leagues,  and  which  have  generally 
been  identified  by  foreigners  with  the  Boxers.  The  former  societies 
had  earlier  in  the  century  become  at  one  time,  under  the  name  of 

296 


i 


THE     BOXER     MOVEMENT  297 

1898 

the  Great  Sword  Society,  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  empire ;  but 
thereafter  in  peaceful  days  it  had  in  many  cases  done  the  work  of 
militia.  When,  therefore,  the  feeling  arose  against  foreigners  on 
account  of  their  seizure  of  territory,  as  well  as,  it  may  be  also 
added,  on  account  of  the  hostility  aroused  by  the  railroad  and  min- 
ing concessions  granted  to  foreigners,  and  at  times,  it  may  be 
acknowledged,  the  insolent  actions  of  many  individual  foreigners, 
it  seemed  wise  to  the  government  to  organize  a  military  movement, 
these  bands  of  militia  were  found  ready  at  hand.  After  the  murder 
of  the  German  missionaries  which  led  to  the  seizure  of  Kiaochow, 
the  governor  of  Shantung,  Li  Ping-Heng,  on  the  demand  of  the 
Germans,  was  removed.  The  Chinese  Government,  however,  with 
its  customary  methods  of  carrying  out  its  aims,  apparently  yielding 
to  pressure,  appointed  as  Li's  successor  in  the  governorship  Yii 
Hsien,  a  man  whose  career  thereafter,  as  well  as  before,  showed 
him  to  be  even  more  bloodthirsty  in  his  opposition  to  the  foreign- 
ers than  most  of  the  other  of  the  Chinese  leaders.  With  his  appar- 
ent encouragement  and  connivance  the  hostile  movement  became 
more  bitter.  At  first  the  attacks  upon  the  native  Christians  and 
foreigners  were  directed  mainly  against  the  Roman  Catholics;  but 
soon  attacks  were  made  upon  all  Christians  with  practically  no  dis- 
crimination. The  governor  at  times  called  out  the  troops  to  aid 
in  the  suppression  of  these  outbreaks,  but  it  was  evident  that  the 
troops  had  been  instructed  not  to  put  down  the  riots;  and  in  the 
reports  to  the  government  at  Peking  the  Christians  were  regularly 
represented  as  the  aggressors.  The  governor,  Yii  Hsien,  went 
even  so  far  in  his  hypocrisy  as  to  ask  the  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs 
to  request  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Conger,  to  order  the  Amer- 
ican missionaries  to  prevent  the  native  Christians  from  attacking 
others.  In  certain  cases  when  the  magistrates  seriously  attempted 
to  keep  the  peace,  they  were  rebuked  by  the  governor.  Even  Yuan 
Shih  Kai,  who  was  serving  in  the  province  and  who  throughout  the 
whole  movement  apparently  recognized  the  advisability  of  check- 
ing the  aggressions  of  the  Boxers,  was  at  one  time  degraded  on 
the  charge  that  he  had  killed  innocent  people  when  he  dispersed  a 
band  of  Boxers  engaged  in  plunder  and  murder.  It  was  repre- 
sented that  the  Boxers  were  peaceful  citizens  who  were  simply  drill- 
ing in  a  legitimate  way  when  they  were  attacked  by  the  Christians. 
On  November  21,  1898,  the  empress  dowager  sent  instructions 
to  the  viceroys  in  regard  to  their  dealings  with  foreigners,  urging 


^98  CHINA 

1899 

them  in  case  of  any  aggressive  action  to  take  positive  measures  of  a 
hostile  nature.  "  It  behooves,  therefore,"  the  edict  ran,  "  that  the 
viceroys,  governors,  and  commanders  in  chief  join  their  forces  and 
unite  together  without  distinction  of  jurisdiction  so  as  to  present 
a  combined  front  to  the  enemy,  exhorting  and  encouraging  their 
officers  and  soldiers  in  person  to  fight  for  the  preservation  of  their 
homes  and  native  soil  from  the  encroaching  footsteps  of  the  foreign 
aggressor.  Never  should  the  word  peace  fall  from  their  mouths." 
In  May  and  June  of  the  next  year,  a  personal  representative 
of  the  empress  dowager,  the  notorious  K'ang-yi,  already  mentioned, 
was  sent  throughout  the  central  and  southern  provinces,  ordering 
the  viceroys  to  form  volunteer  forces  and  to  contribute  money  to 
aid  the  forces  in  the  north.  He  is  reported  to  have  collected  some- 
thing like  a  million  ounces  of  silver.  In  the  fall  of  this  year  Yii 
Hsien,  the  governor  of  Shantung,  distributed  arms  among  the 
Boxers,  and  on  December  27  issued  a  proclamation  that  they  might 
"loot,  plunder,  burn  (any  foreign  premises),  but  they  must  not 
take  life."  But  within  a  few  days  they  went  beyond  these  orders, 
and  a  group  of  them,  meeting  Mr.  Brooks,  an  English  missionary, 
seized  him  and  after  ill-treating  him  put  him  to  death.  This  seemed 
to  be  the  culmination  of  Yii  Hsien's  misgovernment,  although  he 
had  already  resigned  his  office,  the  charges  of  the  foreigners  and 
the  pressure  of  the  legations  having  tardily  accomplished  this  re- 
sult. He  was  removed  from  Shantung,  but  was  shortly  afterward 
promoted  to  the  viceroyalty  in  the  province  of  Shansi,  where  he 
afterward  won  his  disgraceful  renown  as  murderer  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. On  his  way  to  Shansi,  however,  the  empress  dowager 
received  him  at  Peking  with  every  mark  of  favor,  giving  him  "  a 
breastplate  on  which  she  herself  had  embroidered  the  word  *  hap- 
piness.' "  His  place  was  filled  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  who  had  served  the 
empress  dowager  so  well  in  1898  at  the  coup  d'etat.  Yuan,  however, 
was  a  man  of  a  different  type.  He  realized  that  the  Boxer  movement 
was  going  too  far,  and  he  had  neither  sympathy  with  their  acts 
nor  belief  in  their  claims  of  supernatural  power.  Mr.  Denby,  the 
former  American  minister  to  China,  gives  a  report  of  his  reception 
of  a  committee  of  Boxer  leaders  which,  whether  true  or  not,  illus- 
trates well  his  determined  character.  When  he  came  to  the  prov- 
ince he  brought  with  him  a  large  number  of  troops.  This  commit- 
tee of  prominent  Boxer  leaders  called  upon  him  to  explain  their 
doctrines  and  to  impress  upon  him  their  claims  of  invulnerability. 


I 


THE     BOXER     MOVEMENT  299 

1900 

He  listened  to  them;  congratulated  them  upon  their  powers,  and 
invited  them  to  dine  to  meet  some  of  the  high  officials.  They  ac- 
cepted, were  introduced  to  the  other  guests,  and  enjoyed  a  good 
dinner.  Toward  the  end  of  the  dinner  Yuan  turned  the  conversa- 
tion again  upon  their  mysterious  powers,  and  finally  said  that  an 
exhibition  of  their  invulnerability  would  be  of  great  interest  to 
himself  and  to  the  other  guests,  and  that  of  course  they  would  be 
glad  to  give  conclusive  proofs  of  their  claims.  He  then  asked  them 
to  step  out  to  the  parade  grounds  where  the  demonstration  would 
take  place.  They  protested  vigorously,  but  nevertheless  were  com- 
pelled to  line  up  against  a  wall  confronted  by  his  foreign-drilled 
riflemen.  The  word  to  fire  was  given,  and  every  member  of  the 
committee  fell  dead.  Whether  this  be  fact  or  rumor,  so  far  as  the 
powers  at  Peking  would  permit  he  held  well  in  check  in  his  prov- 
ince, throughout  the  entire  Boxer  uprising,  the  anti-foreign  dem- 
onstrations. 

After  the  decree  nominating  the  son  of  Prince  Tuan  as  suc- 
cessor to  the  throne  was  issued,  the  Boxer  movement,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  spread  with  great  rapidity.  Attacks  upon  foreigners 
became  common  not  merely  in  Shantung,  but  also  in  Chihli.  The 
Boxer  leaders  drilled  their  forces  openly  throughout  the  provinces 
in  the  villages  and  towns,  and  even  in  the  large  cities  of  Tientsin 
and  Peking.  The  railway  employees  were  attacked;  the  homes  of 
Christian  converts  were  plundered,  and  in  not  a  few  instances  the 
converts  themselves  were  murdered.  Even  foreign  missionaries 
in  many  cases  were  compelled  to  take  special  measures  to  protect 
their  homes  and  lives.  The  missionaries  made  frequent  representa- 
tions to  the  ministers,  declaring  that  there  was  the  gravest  danger 
of  a  general  uprising  against  the  foreigners,  but, the  ministers  were 
slow  to  believe  that  there  was  any  serious  danger.  On  May  19, 
1900,  Bishop  Favier,  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Mission  in  Peking, 
wrote  to  the  French  minister,  saying :  "  The  religious  persecution 
is  only  a  blind.  The  main  object  is  the  extermination  of  the  Euro- 
peans, and  this  object  is  clearly  indicated  and  written  on  the 
Boxers'  standards."  The  ministers  made  new  representations  to 
the  Foreign  Office,  but  were  again  put  off  with  excuses  and  prom- 
ises. At  length,  however,  they  threatened  to  bring  military  guards 
up  to  Peking,  and  on  May  31  the  guards  started.  The  fact  that 
these  marines  and  some  other  guards,  eighteen  officers  and  389 
men  in  all,  came  through  to  the  city,  was,  as  events  proved,  the 


300  CHINA 

1900 

salvation  of  the  legations.  On  May  2y  the  houses  and  railway  sta- 
tion at  Pao  Ting  Fu  were  destroyed.  At  Feng  Tai,  near  Peking, 
the  railroad  buildings  were  destroyed,  the  Europeans  escaping  to 
Tientsin.  Two  missionaries  were  murdered  at  Yung  Ch'ing  Hsien. 
The  conditions  were  so  threatening  at  Tung  Chow,  twelve  miles 
from  Peking  (the  friendly  taotai  confessing  to  the  foreigners  that 
his  soldiers  were  friendly  to  the  Boxers  and  that  he  could  not  pro- 
tect them),  that  a  telegram  was  sent  to  the  American  minister  ask- 
ing for  an  escort  of  ten  marines  to  take  them  to  Peking.  Even  at 
that  date  he  sent  no  guard,  but  recommended  Chinese  soldiers  in- 
stead. But  Dr.  Ament,  an  American  missionary  in  Peking  closely 
in  touch  with  the  whole  situation,  who  had  but  lately  returned  from 
a  trip  to  the  various  mission  stations  in  the  province,  believing  the 
situation  desperate,  went  alone  with  sixteen  carts  to  Tung  Chow 
and  brought  back  with  him  late  that  night,  starting  at  3  a.  m., 
twenty-four  Americans — six  men,  eleven  women,  and  seven  chil- 
dren— to  the  comparative  safety  of  Peking.  As  events  showed,  a 
delay  of  twenty-four  hours  would  probably  have  cost  all  their  lives. 

Although  the  marines  had  reached  Peking,  when,  owing  to 
the  increased  danger.  Admiral  Seymour  started  from  Tientsin  on 
June  10  with  a  force  of  some  1800  marines  to  the  relief  of  the  min- 
isters, he  was  met  by  such  throngs  of  Boxers  and  imperial  troops 
who  were  well  armed  and  were  apparently  working  together,  that 
the  best  he  could  do  after  he  had  been  surrounded  was  to  hold  his 
own  until  several  days  later  a  relief  force  was  sent  to  his  help, 
with  which  he  returned  to  Tientsin  on  June  26. 

On  June  11  Mr.  Sugiyama,  the  chancellor  of  the  Japanese 
legation,  was  murdered  and  mutilated  in  Peking.  By  the  15th  all 
of  the  abandoned  property  of  the  foreigners,  churches,  schools,  hos- 
pitals, and  houses,  were  burned  by  the  Boxers.  On  the  i6th  a  great 
fire  destroyed  some  thousands  of  shops  and  houses  of  the  Chinese, 
together  with  the  great  superstructure  over  the  Ch'ien  Men  gate, 
to  the  dismay  of  many  of  the  Chinese.  The  loss  from  this  fire  alone 
was  estimated  at  not  less  than  $5,000,000.  On  the  same  day  the 
Manchu  princes,  dukes,  and  high  officials  of  the  boards  and  min- 
istries held  a  council  at  the  palace  at  which  the  empress  dowager 
urged  open  warfare  against  the  foreigners  to  the  end.  The  Manchu 
princes  and  nobles  practically  agreed  with  her,  but  the  Chinese 
hesitated  before  thus  declaring  war  against  the  whole  civilized 
world,  and  it  is  reported  that  the  emperor  begged  her  to  pause 


THE     BOXER     MOVEMENT  301 

1900 

before  undertaking  such  desperate  measures.  The  result,  however, 
was  the  determination  to  fight  the  foreign  powers. 

It  is  fair  to  note,  however,  that  owing  to  the  danger  in  the 
north,  twenty-eight  men-of-war  of  the  different  nations  were  lying 
off  the  mouth  of  the  Pei  Ho  at  Taku.  The  Chinese,  anticipating 
trouble  with  the  foreigners,  attempted  to  reinforce  heavily  the  forts 
at  Taku.  Finally  the  foreign  commanders,  learning  that  thousands 
of  Chinese  troops  had  entered  the  forts,  and  that  mines  were  being 
laid  to  prevent  the  landing  of  further  foreign  troops,  called  upon 
the  commander  to  surrender  by  twelve  o'clock  on  June  15,  under 
penalty  of  a  bombardment  at  two  o'clock  the  next  morning.  At 
I  A.  M.  the  forts  opened  fire  on  the  ships.  The  bombardment  by 
the  ships  continued  throughout  the  next  day,  and  at  night  the  forts 
surrendered.  The  Chinese  Government  at  Peking,  therefore,  were 
recognizing  that  a  state  of  war  actually  existed  already  on  the  part 
of  most  of  the  nations.  Admiral  Kempff  of  the  Americans  had  re- 
fused to  join  the  bombardment  even  though  an  American  gunboat 
had  been  hit  by  the  forts. 

On  June  19  the  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs  handed  passports 
to  the  foreign  ministers,  and  ordered  them  to  leave  Peking  on 
twenty-four  hours'  notice;  but  the  hostility  of  the  Chinese  troops, 
as  shown  by  the  murder  of  the  Japanese  chancellor  and  by  the  for- 
cible attacks  upon  the  property  of  the  foreigners,  as  well  as  the 
threats  against  their  lives,  had  convinced  the  ministers  that  it  would 
be  unsafe  to  trust  themselves  to  the  Chinese  guards  if  they  were  to 
leave  their  legations,  and  the  murder  of  Baron  Ketteler  on  the  20th 
confirmed  this  view.  They,  therefore,  although  they  had  not  been 
formally  notified  of  the  declaration  of  war,  after  some  preliminary 
questioning  and  suggestions  declined  to  accept  the  proffered  escort 
to  Tientsin,  but  gathered  in  the  British  legation,  with  some  thou- 
sands of  native  Christians  assembled  across  a  narrow  street  in  the 
palace  of  Prince  Sii.  There  were  something  over  400  foreigners, 
exclusive  of  the  marines,  350  Chinese,  while  2300  Chinese  were  in 
the  palace  of  Prince  Sii.  At  first  there  had  been  some  apparent 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  Government  to  suppress  the  Boxer 
movement,  and  until  after  the  ministers  had  refused  to  leave  Pe- 
king the  government  pretended  that  they  were  themselves  opposed 
to  the  Boxers'  hostile  acts.  We  have  already  seen,  however,  that 
on  the  1 6th  they  had  decided  upon  war,  and  on  the  17th  an  edict 
was  issued  by  the  empress  dowager,  on  the  advice  of  Prince  Tuan 


303  CHINA 

1900 

and  Yunglu,  addressed  to  the  viceroys  and  governors  of  the  prov- 
inces, declaring  that  the  foreign  dwellings  and  doctrine  halls  were 
to  be  consumed  by  fire;  that  foreigners,  whether  officials  or  mer- 
chants, missionaries  or  converts  or  the  like,  all  were  to  be  destroyed 
by  torture.  "  There  is  to  be  no  pity  shown,  as  that  would  spoil  the 
great  undertaking." 

It  is  thus  clear  that  the  intention  was  not  merely  to  make  war 
upon  the  legations  in  Peking,  but  if  possible  to  exterminate  the 
foreigners  through  the  empire.  And  yet  from  the  events  in  Peking 
there  seems  to  have  been  some  division  of  council. 

On  the  20th,  as  has  been  said.  Baron  Ketteler,  the  German 
minister,  was  murdered  as  he  was  proceeding  to  the  Foreign  Office, 
and  on  the  same  day  the  Rev.  Francis  James  was  killed  as  he  passed 
along  the  street  near  the  British  legation,  in  which  most  of  the 
foreigners  were  gathered.  From  that  time  on  the  legations  were 
in  a  state  of  siege.  The  walled  compounds  were  fortified  as  well 
as  possible,  but  it  seemed  certain  that  if  the  Chinese  had  attacked 
with  persistency  and  any  reasonable  degree  of  skill  they  must  have 
succeeded.  Persons  who  were  in  the  besieged  legations  say  that 
many  of  the  Boxer  bullets  went  over  their  heads ;  and  it  is  declared 
that  the  Boxers,  in  their  religious  frenzy,  actually  saw  at  times  in 
the  air  above  the  heads  of  the  foreigners  legions  of  spirit  troops 
at  whom  their  shots  were  directed.  At  one  time  they  attempted  to 
smoke  out  the  foreigners  by  setting  fire  to  the  great  Hanlin  library 
which  joined  the  British  legation.  They  destroyed  invaluable 
treasures  of  ancient  Chinese  literature;  but  the  wind  shifted  and 
no  special  harm  was  done  to  the  foreigners. 

The  strongest  of  the  anti-foreign  ministers  were  put  in  charge, 
K'ang  Yi  being  made  grand  secretary.  Prince  Chang,  of  the  heredi- 
tary princes,  supreme  commander  of  the  Boxers,  while  Prince 
Tuan  was  at  the  head  of  the  movement.  The  empress  dowager  as 
early  as  June  25  gave  to  the  Boxers  a  hundred  thousand  taels, 
and  all  of  those  who  apparently  favored  the  foreigners  were  in 
danger.  Some,  like  the  young  Marquis  Tseng  and  the  old  coun- 
cilor Wang  Wen  Shao,  advised  against  war  or  urged  that  if  war 
must  come,  the  ministers  be  spared.  Two  of  the  councilors  ven- 
tured to  change  the  edict  of  extermination  which  had  been  sent  to 
the  southern  provinces.  Hsii  Ching-Chen  and  Yuan  Ch'ang  ven- 
tured to  change  the  words,  "  consume  by  fire,  destroy  by  torture," 
to  "  strenuously  protect."     They  knew,  of  course,  that  their  lives 


THE     BOXER     MOVEMENT  303 

1900 

were  endangered,  and  sent  away  their  wives  and  dependents. 
Later  when,  on  the  return  of  some  of  her  emissaries  from  the  south, 
the  empress  dowager  learned  that  the  foreigners  were  not  exter- 
minated, their  act  was  discovered.  The  ministers  declared  that 
they  "  felt  that  they  must  save  both  the  court  and  the  populace 
and  secure  the  realm  from  calamity,  and  for  that  reason  dared  to 
alter  certain  words  in  the  decree.  They  know  that  their  lives  are 
forfeit  for  the  offense  and  only  supplicate  that  their  households 
may  not  suffer  the  penalty,  too.  This  they  deem  an  act  of  clemency 
indeed."  The  empress  heard  their  petition,  smiled,  and  decreed 
that  they  be  executed  forthwith  by  being  cut  in  sunder  at  the 
waist  in  the  "  rotary  barrel,"  reserved  for  those  guilty  of  high 
treason. 

The  battle  about  the  legations  went  on  from  day  to  day,  slack- 
ening in  its  severity  as  the  rescue  party  from  Tientsin  approached 
the  walls,  until  on  the  afternoon  of  August  14  relief  arrived,  and 
the  siege  was  over.  On  some  of  the  days  food,  watermelons,  and 
vegetables  had  been  sent  to  the  legations  from  the  Chinese  Foreign 
Office,  accompanied  by  the  cards  of  the  officials,  and  an  effort  was 
made  at  times  to  make  it  appear  that  the  government  after  all  had 
no  serious  intention  of  destroying  the  legations.  Even  throughout 
the  month  of  July  communications  had  been  held  from  time  to  time 
between  the  Chinese  and  the  ministers  in  the  legations ;  but  however 
friendly  had  been  the  pretense  at  times  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese, 
there  seems  no  doubt  that  the  main  intention  had  been  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  in  the  legations.  It  is  hard  to  explain  why  there  was  not 
an  attack  vigorous  enough  to  succeed ;  but  the  casualties  were  after 
all  numerous.  Fifty-four  regular  soldiers  and  marines  were  killed 
and  eleven  civilians,  while  there  were  wounded  113  regulars  and 
twenty  civilians.  Of  the  Chinese  converts  there  were  killed  nine 
and  wounded  twelve. 

As  the  relief  expedition  entered  the  southern  gate  of  the  city 
the  empress  dowager  and  her  court  fled  from  the  northern.  At  first 
it  was  not  known  whither  she  had  gone ;  but  later  it  was  learned  that 
after  devious  wanderings  she  had  taken  refuge  in  Hsian  Fu,  a  for- 
mer capital  of  China,  in  the  province  of  Shensi.  Even  before  the 
legations  were  relieved,  Li  Hung  Chang  and  the  Prince  of  Ch'ing 
had  been  appointed  ministers  plenipotentiary  to  negotiate  for  a  set- 
tlement. Before  Li,  who  was  at  Canton,  could  come  to  Peking, 
a  second  edict  had  associated  with  them  Yunglu  and  Hsii  Tung. 


304  CHINA 

1900 

As  both  of  these  had  been  active  in  the  attempts  upon  the  legations 
and  were  known  to  be  extremely  hostile  to  foreigners,  it  of  course 
could  not  be  expected  that  they  would  be  acceptable,  and  finally 
the  first  two  mentioned  conducted  the  negotiations  to  a  conclusion. 

The  case  against  the  Chinese  Government  was  very  serious. 
Not  only  had  they  violated  all  traditions  of  civilized  warfare  and 
of  international  law  by  their  attempt  to  murder  envoys,  but  they 
had  actual'ly  destroyed  many  millions  of  property  and  some  thou- 
sands of  lives.  Besides  those  killed  and  wounded  in  Peking,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  Protestant  missionaries  and  their  families  who  were 
either  killed  or  died  as  a  result  of  their  injuries  in  this  uprising 
numbered  i88  and  the  Roman  Catholics  44.  This  does  not  include 
the  native  Christians  murdered,  probably  3000  or  more,  who,  of 
course,  were  Chinese  subjects  but  who  still  had  a  hold  on  the  for- 
eigners ;  nor  does  it  include  the  heavy  losses  of  the  relief  expedition 
of  Admiral  Seymour  and  the  final  expedition  which  reached  Pe- 
king. The  relief  expedition  which  was  finally  successful  consisted 
of  about  10,000  Japanese,  4000  Russians,  3000  British,  2000  Amer- 
icans, besides  a  few  hundreds  of  French  and  German  soldiers ;  and 
in  addition  to  those  killed  and  wounded  in  battle  many  others  died 
from  disease  contracted  in  the  country.  Moreover,  the  atrocities 
committed  against  the  missionaries  were  in  many  instances  of  a 
peculiarly  revolting  kind.  The  former  governor  of  Shantung,  Yii 
Hsien,  had  been  transferred  to  Shansi.  When  he  received  the  or- 
der of  the  court  to  exterminate  the  foreigners,  he  sent  out  emis- 
saries to  bring  to  his  capital  all  foreigners  captured  in  order  that 
he  might  try  them.  But  when  they  came  into  his  yamen,  he,  with- 
out even  attempting  any  form  of  trial,  himself  mounted  his  horse 
and  set  an  example  to  his  followers  by  cantering  past  his  victims 
and  cutting  off  their  heads  with  his  long  sword  as  he  passed  by. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  to  be  noted  the  exemplary  and  far- 
sighted  conduct  of  the  two  great  viceroys,  Ch'ang  Chih-tung  and 
Liu  K'un  Yi,  and  perhaps  even  more  striking  still  that  of  the  acting 
governor,  Tuan  Fang,  in  the  province  of  Shensi.  Contrary  to  the 
intention  of  the  court,  acting  on  the  falsified  order  to  protect  the 
foreigners,  they,  at  great  risk  to  themselves,  not  only  refused  to 
join  in  the  persecution,  but  vigorously  put  down  any  attempt  at  a 
Boxer  demonstration  in  their  provinces.  Liu  even  went  so  far  as 
to  order  his  people  within  doors  after  dark  and  had  the  streets  of 
Nanking  patrolled  by  barefooted  guards  with  orders  to  punish 


THE     BOXER     MOVEMENT  305 

1900 

summarily  anyone  found  outside  of  his  premises  without  sufficient 
reason.  Tuan  Fang  gathered  the  missionaries  together  into  his 
capital  and  had  them  escorted  out  of  the  province  to  a  place  of 
safety,  even  furnishing  out  of  his  own  means  the  necessary  supplies 
where  they,  on  account  of  their  hasty  removal,  lacked  the  neces- 
saries of  life. 

Naturally  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  attempted  to  secure  as 
easy  terms  as  possible,  but  Li  Hung  Chang  soon  recognized  that 
punishment  would  have  to  be  meted  out  to  some  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Boxer  movement,  and  that  heavy  penalties  must  be  paid  for 
the  outrageous  violations  of  international  law  and  comity.  Within 
a  comparatively  short  time  the  general  form  of  agreement  was 
reached.  Prince  Tuan  and  Prince  Kukuo  were  sentenced  to  death, 
but  considering  that  they  were  of  the  imperial  blood,  the  emperor 
was  permitted  to  exile  them  to  Turkestan  for  life  without  the  pos- 
sibility of  commutation.  Yu  Hsien,  whose  bloodthirstiness  in  both 
Shantung  and  Shansi  had  richly  merited  the  punishment,  and 
two  others  who  had  been  active  in  Peking,  were  beheaded;  three 
others  were  condemned  to  commit  suicide,  which  they  did;  while 
still  others  were  banished  from  the  empire ;  and  three  who  had  died 
in  the  meantime  were  sentenced  to  posthumous  degradation.  On  the 
other  hand  the  martyrs  who  had  been  put  to  death  merely  for  ad- 
vocating changes  in  the  administrative  system  had  a  posthumous 
rehabilitation  of  their  names  and  ranks. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  Taku  forts  and  others  between  Tien- 
tsin and  the  sea  should  be  dismantled;  the  importation  of  firearms 
should  be  prohibited  for  a  period  of  years;  permanent  legation 
guards  might  be  established,  and  in  addition,  incidentally,  each  of 
the  legations  was  granted  ample  ground  and  the  right  substantially 
to  fortify.  The  old  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  abolished  and 
in  its  place  was  put  a  smaller  board  which  should  outrank  all  the 
others,  with  the  prince  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  government  as 
the  responsible  official  for  dealings  with  foreign  powers.  In  prov- 
inces where  foreigners  had  been  murdered  the  provincial  examina- 
tions were  suspended  for  five  years.  Regulations  were  made  for 
access  to  the  emperor  in  person,  with  ceremonies  which  were  satis- 
factory to  the  foreigners  and  not  the  degrading  services  earlier 
demanded.  Still  further  an  indemnity  of  450,000,000  taels,  with  in- 
terest at  four  per  cent,  until  paid  at  the  end  of  thirty-nine  years, 
was  agreed  upon,  the  proportion  of  this  indemnity  to  be  divided 


306  CHINA 

1901-1903 

among  the  powers  in  accordance  with  their  own  agreement.  To 
express  the  regrets  of  the  emperor  at  the  assassination  of  the  Ger- 
man minister  and  the  Japanese  chancellor,  special  embassies  were 
to  be  sent  to  the  respective  capitals.  All  of  these  matters  were 
included  in  a  protocol  formally  drawn  up  and  finally  ratified  on 
July  23,  1903.  The  preliminary  conditions  were  signed  on  Sep- 
tember 7,  1 90 1.  The  long  delay  in  the  final  settlement  was  caused 
naturally  by  the  difficulty  of  securing  detailed  information  as  to 
damages  in  the  first  place,  and  afterward  by  the  almost  intermin- 
able discussions  among  the  representatives  of  the  different  nations 
concerned.  Russia  particularly  seemed  to  wish  to  appear  as  the 
friend  of  China  in  opposition  to  the  determination  of  several  of  the 
other  powers,  although  apparently  she  was  willing  to  take  her  full 
share,  and  as  many  think  an  unjust  share,  of  the  indemnity.  The 
United  States  and  England,  in  the  judgment  of  many,  were  not 
inclined  to  insist  upon  a  sufficient  degree  of  severity  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  China  for  so  grave  a  departure  from  the  laws  of  nations ; 
but  on  the  whole  the  settlement  seemed  to  be  reasonably  satisfac- 
tory to  all  of  the  powers. 

Mention  should  not  be  omitted  of  the  fact  that  during  the  re- 
lief expedition  and  after  the  rescue  of  the  legations,  while  the  army 
of  the  powers  was  going  through  the  different  parts  of  the  province 
of  Chihli,  investigating  the  conditions  under  which  the  different  for- 
eigners had  been  murdered,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  on  expedi- 
tions to  punish  certain  cities  for  their  atrocious  murders,  many 
charges  were  made  against  the  soldiers  them^lves  for  their  various 
cruelties.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  many  instances  the  soldiers 
gave  rein  to  their  lowest  passions.  Property  was  seized;  dwelling 
houses  and  palaces  were  looted ;  women  were  outraged ;  defenseless 
men,  women,  and  children  were  at  times  murdered.  The  disgrace 
of  such  proceedings  is  not  to  be  distributed  evenly  among  the 
nations;  some  were  much  worse  than  others,  as  the  Chinese  them- 
selves testify.  After  the  capture  of  the  cities  of  Peking  and  Tien- 
tsin it  was  noted  that  the  parts  guarded  by  the  Japanese,  Amer- 
icans, and  British  were  much  more  frequented  by  the  natives  than 
those  guarded  by  the  others,  and  apparently  these  troops  were 
under  much  better  discipline  than  the  others  as  regards  just  and 
kindly  treatment  of  the  natives.  But  there  is  too  much  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  none  of  the  troops  were  entirely  beyond  censure. 

After  the  return  of  the  court  to  Peking  its  attitude,  as  well 


THE     BOXER    MOVEMENT  807 

1901-1903 

as  that  of  the  Chinese  people,  toward  foreigners  seemed  for  a  con- 
siderable time  to  be  much  changed.  Not  merely  was  the  emperor 
and  the  government  more  easy  of  approach,  as  provided  by  the 
terms  of  the  protocol,  but  the  temper  of  the  government  seemed  to 
have  become  much  more  friendly.  Owing  perhaps  more  to  the 
personal  influence  of  Mrs.  Conger,  the  wife  of  the  American  min- 
ister, than  any  other,  the  empress  dowager  and  the  ladies  of  the 
court  were  led  to  come  into  much  closer  personal  relations  with 
the  ladies  of  the  legations  than  ever  before,  while  the  personal  re- 
lations of  the  Chinese  officials  with  foreigners  seemed  also  to  have 
become  much  more  open  and  cordial.  Moreover,  throughout  the 
empire,  particularly  throughout  the  northern  provinces,  the  atti- 
tude of  the  common  people  as  well  as  of  the  officials  seems  to  have 
improved.  This  is  doubtless  due  in  part  to  fear.  The  Chinese  have 
realized  fully  the  terrible  scourge  of  war  as  carried  on  by  foreign 
troops.  The  officials,  the  lower  magistrates  as  well  as  the  higher 
councilors  at  Peking,  seemed  to  feel  for  a  time  the  difficulty  of 
denying  the  wishes  of  any  foreigners;  but  entirely  aside  from  this 
forced  friendliness  there  seems  to  have  been  in  certain  regards  an 
added  respect  for  foreign  learning  and  a  desire  to  come  into  some- 
what closer  relations.  This  probably  has  been  mostly  due  to  the 
recognition  on  the  part  both  of  the  common  people  and  of  the 
higher  officials,  even  including  the  empress  dowager,  that  in  the 
ability  to  acquire  wealth  and  power,  as  well  as  to  develop  military 
strength,  the  Chinese  methods  of  living  and  the  Chinese  attitude 
toward  life  are  vastly  inferior  to  those  of  the  foreigners.  Not  be- 
cause the  Qiinese  prefer  the  foreign  ways  to  theirs,  but  because 
they  wish  to  acquire  the  strength  of  the  foreigner,  in  order  that 
they  may  in  the  future  resist  foreign  aggression  and  live  their 
own  lives  as  they  wish  to  live  them,  the  Chinese  have  sought  more 
eagerly  than  ever  before  to  acquire  the  foreign  learning  and  the 
foreign  methods  of  prompt  accomplishment  of  positive  results. 


11 


Chapter    XVII 

THE  RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR.     1904-1905 

)4  TTENTION  was  called  in  a  preceding  chapter  to  the  con- 
L\  tract  of  Russia  to  build  the  Siberian  Railroad  through 
JL  JL-  Manchuria  to  Vladivostock,  with  a  branch  line  to  Moukden 
and  Port  Arthur.  The  granting  of  this  concession  to  Russia  by 
China  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  the  preliminary  step  toward  the 
eventual  absorption  of  all  Manchuria  by  the  Russian  Empire.  Al- 
though during  the  peace  negotiations  over  the  Boxer  troubles,  as 
for  some  years  previous,  Russia  had  posed  as  the  special  friend  of 
China,  it  seemed  clear  to  all  unprejudiced  observers  that  Russia's 
friendship  was  after  all  in  the  interests  of  Russia,  and  that  the  ag- 
gressive policy  which  she  had  followed  for  decades  in  central  Asia 
was  to  be  extended  to  eastern  Asia  at  the  expense  of  China.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  us  to  consider  the  question  whether  Russia  was 
justified  in  this  forward  movement  or  not.  Such  matters  are 
usually  determined  by  the  point  of  view.  It  is  natural  that  Russia 
should  seek  an  outlet  on  the  Pacific  for  her  internal  traffic;  it  is 
natural  that  she  should  wish  to  reach  her  seaports  by  the  shortest 
and  best  routes;  it  is  equally  natural  that  she  should  have  wished 
a  port  open  all  the  year  round,  like  the  fortified  Port  Arthur  or  the 
commercial  port  at  Dalny;  but  her  wishes  may  not  necessarily 
justify  her  acts.  It  early  became  evident  when  Russia  began  to 
build  her  railways  through  Manchuria  that  her  purpose  would  not 
be  attained  by  the  mere  building  of  the  road.  As  the  railway  ex- 
tended east  and  south,  so-called  railway  guards  were  brought  into 
the  territory  to  protect  the  line  against  the  Chinese ;  but  these  rail- 
way guards  were  soon  seen  to  be  regularly  drilled  and  equipped 
soldiers,  and  in  many  cases  also  these  soldiers  either  became  set- 
tlers, taking  up  and  cultivating  the  land  near  by  while  maintaining 
their  position  as  guards,  or  else  with  the  soldiers  came  peasants  to 
occupy  the  land.  Manchuria  was  really  held  as  a  military  outpost 
by  Russia  and  was  likewise  being  colonized  by  Russian  farmers. 
Not  merely,  however,  was  Russia  apparently  treacherously 

308 


1900 


THE     RUSSO-JAPANESE     WAR  309 


taking  control  of  Chinese  territory,  but  even  openly  she  took  occa- 
sion to  seize  some  most  valuable  possessions.  While  the  siege  of 
Peking  was  going  on  a  most  tragic  event  occurred  at  Blagovest- 
chensk.  This  is  a  very  large  and  prosperous  town  on  the  Amur 
River,  one  of  the  most  important  centers  between  Irkutsk  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  containing  some  40,000  inhabitants.  Until  July, 
1900,  about  one- fourth  of  the  population  were  Chinese.  Rumors 
of  the  events  at  Peking  had  gone  north  and  the  population  became 
very  much  excited.  Opposite  Blagovestchensk  itself  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river  was  a  Chinese  settlement.  At  the  time  of  the 
siege  these  Chinese  waved  banners  and  beat  drums,  and  it  was 
claimed  by  the  Russian  authorities  that  they  were  acting  as  though 
preparing  for  an  attack.  The  governor  having  only  a  few  men, 
not  more  than  sixty,  became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  Russians 
and  ordered  that  the  Chinese  in  Blagovestchensk  cross  to  the  south 
bank.  They  said  that  they  were  willing  to  do  so,  but  that  they  had 
no  boats.  In  reply  he  ordered  them  to  cross  the  river  within 
twenty-four  hours.  When  at  the  end  of  that  time  it  was  found 
that  they  were  still  in  the  city,  though  of  necessity,  he  ordered  the 
Cossacks  to  collect  the  Chinese,  men,  women,  and  children,  in 
bunches  and  drive  them  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  into  the  river. 
This  was  done.  In  squads  the  Cossacks  marched  through  the  city, 
collected  the  Chinese  into  large  groups,  marched  them  to  the  river, 
and  forced  them  in.  When  the  people  pleaded  and  shrieked  and  at- 
tempted to  come  out  of  the  river,  they  were  forced  back  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  For  two  days  this  bloody  work  continued, 
until  eventually,  according  to  Russian  sources  themselves,  some 
4500  persons  had  been  drowned.  Besides  thus  exterminating  the 
Chinese  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  when  reinforcements  came 
troops  were  sent  across  the  river  into  Manchuria.  Naturally  no 
one  opposed  their  progress.  They  destroyed  all  villages  and  towns 
within  a  distance  of  some  50  or  60  miles  and  thus  annexed  this  part 
of  Manchuria  to  the  Russian  empire. 

These  advances  of  Russia,  however,  especially  the  occupation 
of  Manchuria  by  her  troops  and  her  well-known  policy  of  exclusion 
which  would  shut  the  door  on  foreign  commerce,  were  not  looked 
upon  by  foreign  nations  without  concern.  England  and  America, 
of  course,  feared  for  their  commerce  in  Manchuria,  but  with  Japan 
the  question  was  one  of  far  more  vital  interest.  The  Japanese  had 
themselves  captured  Port  Arthur  and  had  been  forced  by  Russia 


810  CHINA 

1900 

to  give  it  up  on  the  claim  that  "  the  possession  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Liaotung  claimed  by  Japan  would  be  a  constant  menace  to  the 
capital  of  China,  would  at  the  same  time  render  illusory  the  inde- 
pendence of  Korea,  and  would  henceforth  be  a  perpetual  obstacle 
to  the  permanent  peace  of  the  Far  East."  When  they  saw  Russia 
seize  the  prize  which  she  had  compelled  them  to  yield,  and  saw 
further  that  Russia  was  rapidly  strengthening  her  military  force 
along  her  railway  lines  through  the  heart  of  Manchuria,  they  natu- 
rally felt  that  they  had  not  merely  been  insulted  and  deprived  of 
their  rights  by  treachery  and  force,  but  also  that  Russia  would 
scruple  at  nothing  to  accomplish  her  purpose  of  controlling  the 
military  situation  in  the  Far  East,  and  that  the  very  existence  of 
Japan  was  at  stake.  It  was  clear  that  at  some  time  in  the  not 
distant  future  Japan  must  fight.  It  very  soon  became  clear  that 
Russia  was  intending  to  fortify  Port  Arthur  and  make  it  likewise 
the  chief  rendezvous  of  her  fleet  in  the  East.  Moreover,  although 
she  had  declared  that  Dalny  was  to  be  a  free  port  open  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  world,  they  thought  that  she  would  place  such  re- 
strictions upon  the  commerce  of  foreign  nations  that  they  would 
be  seriously  hampered  in  their  commercial  intercourse  with  Man- 
churia. In  1896,  therefore,  Japan  began  her  preparations  and 
steadily  increased  them.  The  war  indemnity  was  used  in  great  part 
for  the  increase  of  the  army  and  navy ;  the  best  systems  of  training 
were  developed,  the  financial  system  of  the  country  was  put  upon 
a  modern  basis,  and  in  every  way  possible,  with  the  most  admirable 
order  and  completeness,  Japan  laid  her  plans  for  the  struggle  which 
she  felt  to  be  inevitable. 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  how  unavoidable  the  struggle  was, 
provided  Russia  continued  her  policy  of  expansion,  Japan,  by  her 
control  of  the  Tsushima  Straits  between  Korea  and  Japan,  was  in 
a  position  to  separate  the  Russian  forces  at  Vladivostock  from 
those  at  Port  Arthur.  This  was  a  condition  which  a  great  mili- 
tary nation  like  Russia  could  not  view  with  equanimity.  On  the 
other  hand  Japan  had  long  had  a  partially  recognized  claim  to 
Korea.  Large  numbers  of  Japanese  had  settled  in  the  south  of  that 
country.  The  restricted  area  of  Japan  made  it  very  desirable  for 
the  Japanese  to  have  the  peninsula  of  Korea  into  which  they  might 
expand  by  colonization,  while  the  control  of  Korea  by  a  hostile 
nation  like  Russia  would  clearly  block  any  plans  of  expansion  on 
the  part  of  the  Japanese,  and  might  very  well  threaten  her  inde- 


i 


THE     RUSSO-JAPANESE    WAR  311 

1900-1901 

pendent  existence.    The  war  was  inevitable  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  Japanese.    The  only  question  was  that  of  the  date. 

At  the  time  of  the  Boxer  troubles  in  China,  Japan  had  promptly 
sent  the  largest  number  of  troops  to  suppress  the  outbreak,  and 
her  troops  had  on  the  whole  proved  the  most  efficient  of  any  in 
China.  Russia  had  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  withdraw  her 
troops  and  to  attempt  to  strengthen  her  position  with  China.  She 
had  by  her  massacre  at  Blagovestchensk  secured  a  part  of  the  Chi- 
nese territory  on  the  Amur  River.  Moreover,  just  at  the  time  when 
the  other  nations  were  employed  in  China  she  applied  to  Korea  for 
the  lease  of  the  port  of  Masampo,  on  the  southeastern  coast  of  Korea, 
a  port  immediately  opposite  Japan,  and  so  close  that  its  possession  by 
a  hostile  power  would  be  a  source  of  the  greatest  danger.  The 
Japanese  Government  naturally  protested  most  vigorously,  so  vig- 
orously in  fact  that  Russia  thought  it  best  not  to  insist.  When 
it  was  announced  by  Russia  after  the  massacre  at  Blagovestchensk 
that  she  was  making  of  the  Amur  River  an  internal  waterway,  thus 
declaring  her  intention  of  seizing  all  of  the  southern  bank  of  that 
river,  then  Manchurian  territory,  protests  were  naturally  made,  and 
Russia  was  requested  to  withdraw  her  troops.  She  made  the  for- 
mal promise  that  the  troops  sent  into  Manchuria  for  the  protection 
of  the  railway  would  be  withdrawn  as  soon  as  lasting  order  had 
been  established,  "  provided  that  the  action  of  the  other  powers 
does  not  place  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  such  a  measure."  In- 
stead, however,  of  making  any  effort  toward  withdrawal,  more 
troops  were  sent  continually  into  Manchuria  and  the  fleet  at  Port 
Arthur  was  steadily  increased.  Admiral  Alexiev,  in  November, 
1900,  wished  to  make  an  agreement  with  the  Tartar-General  of 
Moukden,  in  charge  of  the  government  of  Manchuria,  to  administer 
the  government  "  under  the  protection  of  Russia,"  the  understand- 
ing being  that  Chinese  soldiers  were  to  be  disarmed  and  disbanded, 
whereas  the  Russian  troops  were  to  be  provided  with  lodging  and 
provisions  and  put  in  occupation  of  all  forts  and  defenses  which 
were  not  dismantled.  It  was  declared  that  Newchwang  and  the 
other  places  would  be  restored  to  China  when  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment was  satisfied  that  the  pacification  of  the  province  was  com- 
plete. "  A  Russian  political  resident  with  general  powers  of  con- 
trol was  to  be  stationed  at  Moukden."  Japan,  England,  and  the 
United  States  all  protested,  as  Newchwang  was  a  treaty  port  in 
which  all  were  interested,  but  Russia  still  attempted  to  secure  spe- 


312  CHINA 

1902-1903 

cial  privileges  in  mining  in  Mongolia  and  central  Asia.  The  Chi- 
nese seemed  to  have  little  power  of  resistance  except  as  they  were 
backed  strongly  by  Japan,  England,  and  the  United  States. 

Events  seemed  to  be  tending  so  strongly  toward  the  absorp- 
tion of  Manchuria  by  Russia  and  the  consequent  sacrifice  of  Eng- 
land's interests  as  well  as  those  of  Japan,  that  on  January  30,  1902, 
a  treaty  was  signed  between  Great  Britain  and  Japan  which 
strengthened  greatly  the  position  of  both  powers  and  gave  Japan 
a  much  freer  hand.  The  treaty  declared  first  the  peaceful  inten- 
tions of  both  countries ;  but  the  gist  of  the  matter  lay  in  the  state- 
ment that  if  in  the  event  of  war  with  any  power  a  third  power 
"  should  join  in  hostilities  against  that  ally  the  other  high  con- 
tracting power  will  come  to  its  assistance  and  will  conduct  the  war 
in  common  and  make  peace  in  mutual  agreement  with  it."  That 
is  to  say,  if  war  should  break  out  between  Japan  and  Russia,  let 
us  say,  England  would  come  to  the  aid  of  Japan  provided  any  other 
country  joined  with  Russia.  This  naturally  placed  Japan  in  a  much 
more  favorable  position  in  her  protests  against  the  Russian 
advances. 

In  April,  1902,  as  the  result  in  part  perhaps  of  the  strength- 
ened position  of  China  on  account  of  the  friendliness  of  the  other 
powers  and  the  strengthening  of  the  relations  between  Japan  and 
Great  Britain,  a  treaty  had  been  made  with  China  by  which  Russia  tt 
had  agreed  to  withdraw  her  troops.  The  evacuation  began  shortly  " 
and  continued  slowly  for  a  time,  but  later  the  movement  was 
stopped,  and  the  Russian  troops  seemed  once  more  to  be  moving  in 
increased  numbers  into  Manchuria.  Again,  some  years  earlier 
a  concession  had  been  made  by  the  emperor  of  Korea  to  a  Russian 
lumber  company  to  cut  the  timber  in  a  certain  region  on  the  banks 
of  the  Yalu  River  near  the  port  of  Yongampo.  Here  again  the 
Russians  seemed  to  be  taking  advantage  of  their  position  and  to 
be  establishing  military  posts. 

Japan  saw  in  this,  too,  a  deliberate  attempt  on  the  part  of 
Russia  to  get  control  of  Korea,  and  being  at  length,  as  events 
proved,  fully  ready  for  war  if  war  must  come,  Japan  decided  to 
take  up  the  matter  of  the  relations  of  the  two  powers  in  Korea 
and  Manchuria.  In  July  of  1903,  therefore,  Baron  Komura,  the 
minister  of  foreign  affairs,  approached  the  Russian  Government 
with  reference  to  the  settlement  of  the  questions  at  issue.  The 
terms  of  the  discussion  do  not  concern  us  here  excepting  so  far  as 


THE     RUSSO-JAPANESE     WAR  81S 

1903-1904 

they  show  the  attitude  of  the  two  powers  toward  China  and  her 
interests.  Until  the  China-Japan  War  Korea  had  been  considered 
as  an  appanage  of  China,  but  that  war  had  made  it  independent. 
The  first  propositions  made  by  Japan  on  these  points  were:  (i) 
that  the  independence  and  territorial  integrity  of  China  and  Korea 
should  be  mutually  respected,  and  that  the  principle  of  the  open 
door  in  both  countries  should  be  preserved;  (2)  that  Japan's  in- 
terests in  Korea  and  those  of  Russia  in  Manchuria  should  be  recog- 
nized, both  powers  being  at  liberty  to  take  such  measures  as  might 
be  necessary  for  the  protection  of  their  interests,  subject  to  Article 
1. ;  (3)  that  both  should  be  at  liberty  to  promote  their  industrial 
activities  in  their  separate  spheres  of  influence  without  interfer- 
ence, but  that  Russia  should  not  oppose  the  connection  of  the  Korean 
and  Manchurian  railway  systems.  Neither  was  to  employ  force 
excepting  to  protect  its  special  interests,  while  Russia  was  to  recog- 
nize the  exclusive  right  of  Japan  to  give  advice  to  Korea.  The 
Japanese  Government  let  it  also  be  understood  that  it  was  ready 
to  recognize  and  define  the  special  interests  of  Russia  in  Man- 
churia growing  out  of  her  railway  rights.  It  was  willing  to  recog- 
nize Russia's  right  to  administer  a  strip  of  territory  thirty  miles  on 
each  side  of  the  line. 

In  Russia's  reply  no  statement  was  made  about  Manchuria 
except  that  it  was  to  be  recognized  by  Japan  as  outside  of  her 
sphere  of  interest.  On  the  other  hand  Russia  insisted  upon  some 
very  careful  restrictions  regarding  Korea.  She  was  apparently 
wanting  a  free  hand  in  Manchuria  without  granting  a  free  hand 
to  Japan  in  Korea,  evidently  intending  to  absorb  Manchuria.  Rus- 
sian officials  in  Peking  and  military  men  in  Manchuria  in  conversa- 
tion at  times  inadvertently  referred  to  Manchuria  as  "our  terri- 
tory," it  being  perfectly  evident  that  Russia  had  no  intention  of 
withdrawing  from  that  country.  Japan  believed  that  the  predomi- 
nance of  Russia  in  Manchuria  without  any  restriction  would 
eventually  lead  to  predominance  of  Russia  in  Korea  also,  and  that 
was  felt  to  be  fatal  to  her  interests.  After  repeated  delays  on  the 
part  of  Russia  and  further  interchange  of  notes  with  no  apparent 
likelihood  of  reaching  an  agreement,  Japan  finally  broke  off  nego- 
tiations on  February  5,  1904,  recalling  her  minister  from  St. 
Petersburg,  and  giving  the  Russian  minister  at  Tokio  his  passports 
on  the  6th.  On  the  8th  her  fleet  surprised  the  Russian  fleet  in 
Port  Arthur,  and  the  war  had  begun. 


314.  CHINA 

1904-1905 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  United  States  near  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  it  was  agreed  by  both  parties  that  the  active  operations 
should  be  limited  to  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Russians  in  Man- 
churia and  lands  necessary  for  the  Japanese  in  reaching  such  ter- 
ritory, Korea,  while  the  integrity  of  China  should  otherwise  be 
respected.  Although  there  were  repeated  charges  of  the  violation  of 
this  agreement  on  the  part  of  Russia,  there  was  no  noteworthy  de- 
parture from  it.  The  success  of  the  Japanese  arms  was  rapid  and 
apparently  complete.  The  Russians  were  defeated  in  many  smaller 
engagements,  and  in  the  two  great  battles  of  Liaoyang  and  Mouk- 
den;  while  on  January  7,  1905,  the  fall  of  Port  Arthur  gave  the 
Japanese  a  military  prestige  almost  unequaled  in  history.  Her 
destruction  of  most  of  the  Russian  fleet  in  Port  Arthur  gave  her  a 
great  advantage,  and  the  destruction  of  the  second  Baltic  fleet  on 
May  28  left  Russia  practically  without  war  ships  and  made  Japan 
easily  the  dominant  power.  Negotiations  for  peace,  opened  through 
the  intervention  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  were  concluded  on  September  5. 

As  a  result  of  the  war  China  is  apparently  eventually  to  regain 
Manchuria.  Both  Japan  and  Russ-ia  engage  "  to  evacuate  com- 
pletely and  simultaneously  Manchuria,  excepting  the  territory  af- 
fected by  the  lease  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula,  and  to  restore 
entirely  and  completely  to  the  exclusive  administration  of  China 
all  portions  of  Manchuria  now  in  the  occupation  or  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Japanese  or  Russian  troops,  with  the  exception  of  the 
territory  above  mentioned." 

Both  countries  agreed  not  to  obstruct  any  measure  common  to 
all  countries  which  China  may  take  for  the  development  of  the 
commerce  and  industry  of  Manchuria. 

Russia  cedes  to  Japan  with  the  consent  of  China  the  lease  of 
Port  Arthur,  Dalny,  and  the  surrounding  territory,  with  the  public 
works  and  properties  concerned. 

Russia  cedes  to  Japan  also  the  railway  from  Port  Arthur 
north  to  the  main  line  of  the  Siberian  road  to  Vladivostock.  Both 
Japan  and  Russia  are  to  use  their  respective  railways  in  Manchuria 
exclusively  for  commercial  and  industrial  purposes,  excepting  that 
in  the  Liaotung  Peninsula. 

Both  parties  to  the  war  agree  to  commence  the  withdrawal 
of  their  military  forces  from  Manchuria  immediately  and  to  have 
them  completely  removed  within  eighteen  months,  although  both 


THE     RUSSO-JAPANESE     WAR  315 

1905 

reserve  the  right  to  maintain  guards  to  protect  their  respective  rail- 
way lines.  The  number  of  guards,  however,  are  not  to  exceed 
fifteen  per  kilometer,  and  the  commanders  of  the  two  armies  shall 
agree  to  make  the  number  as  small  as  possible. 

The  treaty  was  formally  ratified  on  October  14. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  Chinese  Government  asked  to  be 
admitted  to  the  peace  conference  in  order  that  her  rights  might 
be  protected;  but  both  Russia  and  Japan  objected,  and  the  treaty 
was  made  independently.  It  was  explained,  however,  that  this 
refusal  was  in  no  way  hostile  to  China,  but  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  the  two  countries  concerned  to  deal  separately  with  China 
on  that  question. 

Even  before  the  close  of  the  war  a  new  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  Japan  was  signed,  on  August  12,  which  affects  the 
future  interests  of  China  in  a  noteworthy  degree.  In  the  preamble 
it  is  stated  that  one  of  the  objects  of  the  treaty  is  the  preservation 
"  of  the  common  interests  of  all  powers  in.  China  by  insuring  the 
independence  and  integrity  of  the  Chinese  Empire  and  the  prin- 
ciple of  equal  opportunities  for  the  commerce  and  industry  of  all 
nations  in  China."  The  fact  that  the  treaty  involves  also  the  har- 
monious action  of  the  two  powers  with  relation  to  Korea  and  India 
as  well  as  China,  and  that,  in  case  of  aggressive  action,  if  either 
party  is  attacked  by  other  powers,  the  second  contracting  power 
will  come  promptly  to  the  assistance  of  the  first,  makes  this  article 
regarding  the  integrity  of  China  much  more  significant  than  it 
otherwise  would  be. 

On  December  21,  1905,  Japan  and  China  sigpned  a  treaty  for 
the  final  adjustment  of  the  Manchurian  problems  after  the  war. 
In  substance  the  provisions  are  that  Japan  will  occupy  the  same 
position  in  Manchuria  that  Russia  did  before  the  war,  except  that 
the  principle  of  the  open  door  will  prevail  and  that  Japan  will  pre- 
sumably not  adopt  so  aggressive  a  policy  as  did  Russia.  Although 
the  treaty  has  not  yet  been  published  it  is  thought  that  the  sub- 
stance of  the  convention  gives  China  the  right  to  repurchase  the 
railway  taken  by  Japan  from  Russia ;  that  meantime  Japan  will  be 
permitted  to  maintain  the  railway  guards  and  to  garrison  its  con- 
sulates at  the  treaty  ports  provided.  The  residence  of  the  Japanese 
•and  their  banking  shall  be  restricted  to  those  places.  The  customs 
hitherto  collected  by  the  Japanese  at  Newchwang  will  be  restored 
to  China;  the  military  government  notes  issued  by  the  Japanese 


316  CHINA 

1905 

are  to  be  redeemed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  the  Japanese  shall 
surrender  their  military  administration  when  they  evacuate  Man- 
churia. It  is  thought  possible  that  China  has  consented  to  make 
some  other  valuable  concessions  to  Japan  in  recognition  of  her 
defense  of  the  interests  of  China  during  the  v^ar,  but  as  the  treaty 
has  not  yet  been  made  public,  the  above  statement  is  only  a  very 
probable  outline  made  by  Dr.  Morrison  of  the  London  Times, 
whose  information  is  almost  always  trustworthy.  Negotiations 
between  Russia  and  China  covering  the  same  questions  of  the  situ- 
ation to  be  recognized  after  the  war  are  now  under  way. 

On  the  whole,  China  certainly  has  reasons  to  congratulate  her- 
self on  the  present  situation  in  Manchuria,  her  position  being  much 
better  than  she  had  any  right  to  hope  for  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1904. 

During  the  years  1903  and  1904  a  series  of  disputes  between 
Great  Britain  and  China  arose  over  the  situation  in  Tibet.  By  the 
conventions  of  1890  and  1893,  Yatung,  in  the  Chumbi  Valley,  on 
the  frontier  of  India  and  Tibet,  was  opened  for  trade.  According 
to  the  statement  of  the  Indian  officials  the  conventions  had  not  been 
well  observed,  and  during  1903  the  Indian  government  dispatched 
a  commission  under  Colonel  Younghusband  to  secure  their  observ- 
ance. A  force  of  soldiers  under  Brigadier  General  Macdonald  ac- 
companied them  as  an  escort.  The  Tibetans  did  not  welcome  the 
mission,  but  openly  resisted  their  advance,  there  being  severe  fight- 
ing at  several  places.  The  mission,  however,  proceeded  to  Lhasa, 
reaching  there  on  August  3,  1904.  The  Dalai  Lama,  the  supreme 
ruler,  had  fled,  but  the  Amban,  the  representative  of  the  suzerain 
Chinese  Government,  was  present,  and  after  considerable  negotia- 
tions a  formal  treaty  was  signed  by  all  the  leading  officials  and 
representatives  present,  the  seal  of  the  Dalai  Lama  being  fixed  by 
the  regent  in  charge  on  September  7,  1904.  Tibet  agreed  to  estab- 
lish markets  at  Gyantse  and  Gartok  in  addition  to  the  one  at 
Yatung.  Tibetan  and  British  officials  were  to  be  stationed  at  these 
markets,  and  Great  Britain  agreed  to  alter  any  objectionable  fea- 
tures in  the  convention  of  1893.  Tibet  agreed  to  pay  Great  Britain 
500,000/,  ($2,500,000),  payable  in  seventy-five  yearly  installments. 
Great  Britain  is  to  occupy  the  Chumbi  Valley  for  security  for  carry- 
ing out  the  treaty.  Of  greater  importance,  however,  is  the  agree- 
ment of  Tibet  to  demolish  all  the  forts  between  the  Indian  frontier 
and  Gyantse  on  the  trade  routes,  while  most  important  of  all  is 


THE     RUSSO-JAPANESE     WAR 


317 


1905 


the  agreement  of  Tibet  "  not  to  sell,  lease,  or  mortgage  any  Tibetan 
territory  to  any  foreign  power  without  the  consent  of  Great  Britain 
and  not  to  allow  any  foreign  power  to  concern  itself  with  Tibetan 
affairs  or  to  construct  roads  or  railways  or  open  mines  in  Tibet." 
By  a  later  agreement  the  British  Government  decided  that  the 
amount  of  the  indemnity  should  be  reduced  to  166,000/.  ($830,- 
000),  and  that  the  period  of  occupation  of  the  Chumbi  Valley 
shouM  be  limited  to  three  years. 

The  special  international  significance  of  this  settlement  of  the 
Tibetan  question  is  the  apparent  security  which  Great  Britain  has 
against  the  aggressive  action  of  Russia,  it  having  been  generally 
supposed  that  Russia  had  succeeded  in  winning  the  sympathy  and 
liking  of  the  Dalai  Lama,  and  that  her  intention  was  to  push  fur- 
ther into  Tibet,  as  she  had  done  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Far  East. 
This  agreement  also  probably  affords  to  China  a  reasonable  secur- 
ity against  seizure  of  Tibetan  territory,  although  the  country  will  be 
opened  up. 


Chapter  XVIII 

THE  PRESENT  SITUATION.     1906-1910. 

THE  indirect  results  of  the  Boxer  movement,  together  with 
the  stimulus  afforded  to  China  by  the  noteworthy  success 
of  Japan  in  the  adoption  of  Western  methods  in  indus- 
trial and  military  advance,  have  been  remarkable,  and  at  present  in- 
dicate a  complete  reversal  of  China's  former  conservative  policy. 
The  movement  toward  military  education  and  the  equipment  of  an 
army,  begun  before  the  Boxer  outbreak,  has  been  continued  with 
better  judgment  but  with  no  less  energy  since  the  settlement  of 
these  troubles.  Although  China  agreed  not  to  import  arms — the 
decrees  to  cover  two-year  periods  till  the  powers  were  satisfied — her 
arsenals  have  been  kept  busily  at  work. 

In  January,  1905,  a  plan  of  gradual  organization  of  the  army 
was  laid  down  by  imperial  decree,  to  be  commenced  immediately 
and  to  be  completed  in  1922.  Recruitment  is  on  the  voluntary 
principle;  the  terms  of  service  are  ten  years,  three  in  the  active 
army,  three  in  the  reserve,  and  four  in  the  territorial.  The  Japanese 
system  of  training  is  followed.  The  men  in  the  territorial  army  are 
called  out  for  exercise  every  other  year  for  thirty  days,  and  those 
in  the  reserve  for  the  same  period  every  year.  The  artillery  is  or- 
ganized in  regiments  of  three  divisions,  each  of  three  batteries  and 
six  guns ;  the  cavalry  in  regiments  of  three  squadrons,  each  of  four 
troops;  and  the  infantry  in  regiments  of  three  battalions  of  four 
companies.  The  peace  strength  of  batteries  is  100  to  130,  of  squad- 
rons 224,  and  of  battalions  504.  A  division  consists  of  two  infan- 
try brigades,  each  of  two  regiments,  with  a  cavalry  regiment,  a 
battalion  of  engineers,  and  an  artillery  regiment.  There  are  about 
10,000  men  on  a  war-footing.  It  is  intended  that  there  shall  be 
eventually  thirty-six  divisions,  divided  into  two  armies — the  North- 
em  army  and  the  Southern  army.  The  Green  Flag  troops,  the 
Chinese  militia,  was  reorganized  by  an  edict  issued  September  15, 
1907.  They  are  now  under  control  of  the  Minister  of  War  and  are 
all  to  be  uniformly  armed  in  each  province  and  formed  in  battal- 

318 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  319 

1906-1910 

ions  of  three  companies  and  squadrons  of  three  troops.  Their 
duties  in  peace  are  much  the  same  as  before,  but  in  time  of  war 
they  pass  under  the  command  of  regular  officers,  although  they 
cannot  be  employed  beyond  the  boundaries  of  their  own  province. 

In  the  treaty  of  September  5,  1902,  with  Great  Britain,  China 
agreed  to  establish  a  new  uniform  monetary  system,  to  provide  for 
the  proper  recognition  of  trademarks,  as  well  as  to  protect  in  full  the 
business  and  personal  interests  of  foreigners.  An  imperial  decree  was 
issued  in  October,  1908,  commanding  the  introduction  of  a  uniform 
tael  currency,  of  which  the  unit  must  be  a  silver  tael  coin  of  98-touch 
weighing  one  K'up'ing  or  Treasury-scale  tael  or  ounce.  This 
standard  tael  weighs  575.82  grains  and  has  a  value  fluctuating 
between  sixty  and  eighty  cents.  A  decree  for  uniform  weights 
and  measures  was  issued  October  9,  1907,  making  the  Treasury- 
scale  the  standard  weight.  In  the  tariff  settled  by  treaty  with 
Great  Britain,  the  ch'ik  of  14  i-io  English  inches  was  adopted  as 
the  legal  standard,  and  the  use  of  this  standard  has  become  com- 
mon at  all  treaty  ports. 

Before  the  Boxer  outbreak  a  very  valuable  railway  conces- 
sion, that  from  Hankow  to  Canton,  had  been  granted  to  an  Amer- 
ican syndicate,  one  condition  being  that  the  concession  should  not 
be  transferred  to  citizens  of  any  other  nationality.  Owing,  how- 
ever, to  difficulties  arising  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer  troubles  and 
to  the  death  of  the  American  chiefly  interested,  the  leading  stock- 
holders became  discouraged,  and,  partly  as  a  speculation,  sold  the 
controlling  share  of  the  stock  to  the  king  of  the  Belgians,  retaining 
for  a  time  the  nominal  title  to  the  stock  and  the  American  officers 
of  the  corporation.  When  the  sale  became  known,  however,  the 
Chinese  Government  protested  vigorously,  and  at  length,  after 
months  of  protest  and  negotiation,  decided  that  it  would  declare 
the  franchise  forfeited,  as  the  terms  under  which  it  was  granted 
had  not  been  observed ;  but  before  this  action  was  taken,  a  majority 
of  the  stock  was  bought  back  by  Americans.  The  dissatisfaction, 
however,  had  been  so  great  that  the  Chinese,  acting  under  the 
leadership  of  Viceroy  Oh'ang  Chih-tung,  finally  agreed  to  buy 
back  the  entire  concession  from  the  Americans  at  a  figure  which 
gave  the  latter  a  large  profit.  The  viceroy,  in  order  to  secure 
the  road,  borrowed  heavily  from  the  Hongkong  Government  on 
conditions  which  practically  turned  over  the  concession  to  the 
British  and  Japanese.    Although  the  Americans  were  ousted,  the 


320  CHINA 

1906-1910 

viceroy  was  very  severely  condemned  by  many  of  the  Chinese 
for  not  retaining  a  more  complete  hold  as  against  the  foreigners. 

Even  more  bitter  was  the  feeling  and  more  severe  the  actions 
of  the  Chinese  against  the  Americans  in  connection  with  the 
United  States  Chinese  exclusion  act.  In  December,  1904,  the 
Chinese  exclusion  treaty  with  the  United  States  expired  by  the 
denunciation  of  the  Chinese  Government  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  treaty;  and  the  Chinese  minister  in  Washington  was 
instructed  to  take  up  with  the  American  Government  the  question 
of  the  formation  of  a  new  treaty  on  lines  more  favorable  to  the 
Chinese.  In  accordance  with  the  interpretation  of  the  American 
Government,  the  former  treaty  provided  for  the  exclusion  of  all 
Chinese  excepting  certain  exempted  classes,  such  as  students,  mer- 
chants, travelers,  and  officials.  Leading  Chinese  claim  that  at  the 
time  the  treaty  was  made  they  had  thought  that  the  terms  excluded 
only  their  laborers  of  the  coolie  class  and  that  all  other  persons 
were  admitted,  the  classes  enumerated  being  merely  illustrative 
examples.  It  is  said  that  the  Chinese  interpretation  of  the  treaty 
justifies  that  version,  but  the  American  Government  has  held  other- 
wise. There  seems  little  doubt,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  Amer- 
ican officials  have  at  times  administered  the  law  most  rigidly,  and 
that  Chinese  students  and  gentlemen  of  standing,  as  well  as  their 
wives  and  relatives,  have  been  treated  with  grave  discourtesy  and 
have  often  been  put  to  extreme  discomfort.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Chinese  of  the  coolie  class  have  evaded 
the  law  by  thousands  either  through  impersonation  of  the  ex- 
empted classes  or  by  connivance  with  Chinese  officials  or  by 
bribery  of  American  officials,  and  thus  have  secured  entrance  ille- 
gally into  the  United  States.  Even  some  Chinese  officials  have 
admitted  informally  that  probably  half  the  Chinese  in  the  United 
States  to-day  are  here  illegally. 

Many  of  the  young  Chinese  who  have  studied  abroad,  espe- 
cially those  who  have  studied  in  America,  have  been  greatly 
incensed  at  the  apparent  indignity  cast  upon  their  nation  by  exclud- 
ing its  citizens  from  the  country.  Although  the  real  reason  has 
been  primarily  the  protest  of  the  laborers  against  the  efficiency  of 
the  Chinese  which  makes  so  severe  a  competition,  together  with  a 
fear  of  another  race  problem  of  serious  moment,  the  Chinese  have 
naturally,  perhaps,  assumed  that  it  was  an  attack  upon  their  char- 


THEPRESENT    SITUATION  321 

1906-1910 

acter  and  an  under  estimation  which  in  the  eyes  of  Americans  made 
them  less  worthy  immigrants  than  Europeans. 

They  wished  to  have  the  treaty  revised  in  such  a  way  as  to 
admit  all  Chinese  except  the  class  of  laborers,  which  class  should 
be  carefully  defined.  When,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  negotia- 
tion, the  treaty  was  not  signed  for  a  period  of  several  months,  and 
when  it  seemed  likely  that  the  treaty  might  not  be  signed  at  all, 
a  boycott  against  American  goods  was  declared  at  Shanghai  and 
at  other  places  by  the  merchants.  It  is  said  that  the  boycott  was 
led  by  a  Chinese  merchant  who  had  himself  suffered  mistreatment 
in  the  United  States,  that  it  was  supported  by  the  young  and  enthu- 
siastic Chinese  students,  and  that  from  time  to  time,  at  any  rate, 
the  movement  was  encouraged  by  foreign  merchants,  especially 
Japanese,  who  thought  that  their  trade  might  be  improved  if 
American  products  were  excluded.  President  Roosevelt  expressed 
himself  strongly,  long  before  the  boycott  was  declared,  in  favor  of 
a  treaty  along  the  general  lines  indicated  by  the  Chinese,  but  it 
has  not  as  yet  become  apparent  that  such  a  treaty  would  meet  with 
the  approval  of  the  government.  Moreover,  the  demands  of  the 
boycotters  went  at  times  far  beyond  the  lines  indicated.  After 
some  nine  or  ten  months  had  passed,  the  boycott  began  to  gradually 
die  away;  in  some  places  the  change  was  brought  about  apparently 
by  government  action,  in  others  by  losses  of  the  Chinese  merchants. 

Early  in  1906,  a  most  noteworthy  step  was  taken  in  sending 
to  foreign  countries  two  important  commissions  headed  by  most 
able  and  cultivated  administrative  officials,  to  study  foreign  pol- 
itics and  institutions,  social,  educational,  and  economic,  with  the 
idea  of  giving  to  China  a  more  advanced  government.  On  September 
I,  1906,  the  emperor  issued  an  edict  promising  a  constitution  as  soon 
as  the  people  were  ready  for  it,  and  urging  the  necessity  of  devel- 
oping the  scope  of  public  instruction,  improvement  of  the  financial 
system,  reorganization  of  the  army  and  the  establishment  of  a  reg- 
ular police  force.  Considerable  impetus  was  given  to  this  move- 
ment in  1907.  In  the  following  year  decrees  were  issued  com- 
manding the  formation  in  each  province  of  consultative  assemblies 
to  be  elected  by  the  people.  A  decree  issued  on  August  27, 
1908,  announced  the  convocation  of  a  parliament  and  the  procla- 
mation of  a  constitution  in  the  ninth  year  from  the  date  of  that 
decree. 


322  CHINA 

1906-1910 

Without  the  necessary  experience  or  acquaintance  with  for- 
eign methods,  the  government  has  already  made  serious  blunders 
in  its  attempted  reforms.  This  is  most  clearly  apparent  perhaps 
in  the  effort  toward  monetary  reform  and  toward  the  management 
of  their  educational  systems  by  ill-equipped  Chinese  who  have  had 
but  scanty  foreign  training.  In  many  instances  the  government 
students  in  Japan  have  been  given  the  so-called  rapid  course  in 
which  they  are  expected  to  cram  Western  learning  within  a 
very  short  time.  The  Chinese  scholars  who  have  been  trained  in 
America,  say,  for  example,  that  the  Japanese  at  times  give  the  same 
degree  for  a  year's  work  that  an  American  university  will  give  in 
not  less  than  four  or  five  years. 

On  May  25,  1908,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  a 
resolution  remitting  part  of  the  indemnity  due  the  American  gov- 
ernment from  China  according  to  the  bond  of  December  15,  1906, 
as  "an  act  of  friendship."  In  return  China  sent  one  of  her  ablest 
statesmen.  Tang  Shao-yi,  as  a  special  ambassador  to  the  United 
States  to  formally  thank  the  government.  Ambassador  Tang  was 
also  commissioned  by  his  government  to  study  constitutional  pro- 
cedure and  financial  methods  in  the  United  States. 

In  November,  1908,  occurred  almost  simultaneously  the  deaths 
of  the  emperor  and  the  empress-dowager.  The  official  announce- 
ment gave  the  date  of  emperor's  death  as  November  14,  and  that 
of  the  empress's  as  the  next  day,  but  it  is  believed  by  those  famil- 
iar with  the  etiquette  and  ceremony  of  the  Chinese  court  that  both 
deaths  took  place  some  considerable  time  previous  to  the  official 
statements.  On  November  15  was  announced  the  accession  to  the 
throne  of  Prince  Pu-yi,  the  three-year-old  nephew  of  the  late  em- 
peror, under  the  title  of  Hsuen  Tung.  The  new  emperor's  father. 
Prince  Chun,  became  the  regent  until  his  son  should  attain  his 
majority.  On  December  3,  1908,  a  decree  was  issued  affirming  that 
of  August  T.'J. 

Early  in  April,  1909,  a  new  citizenship  law  became  operative 
which  forbids  under  severe  penalties  Chinese  subjects  to  become 
naturalized  in  any  other  country.  Two  considerations  dictated  the 
passage  of  this  law :  the  first  was  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  China 
before  the  world,  for  now  when  any  country  denies  the  right  of 
naturalization  to  Chinese,  their  home  government  can  reply  that 
China  herself  does  not  permit  expatriation  of  her  subjects;  the 
second  reason  was  that  as  China  is  building  up  her  military  sys- 


THE    PRESENT    SITUATION  322a 

1906-1910 

tem,  she  can  thus  prevent  any  wholesale  expatriation  to  avoid 
military  duty. 

During  the  year  1909,  American  diplomatic  relation  with  China 
increased  in  importance.  American  bankers  desired  to  participate 
in  the  loan  for  the  building  of  the  Hankow-Sze-Chuen  Railroad,  an 
extension  of  the  Canton-Hankow  line.  They  based  their  claim 
upon  assurances  given  the  American  Minister  to  Peking  in  1904 
by  the  Chinese  government  that  both  American  and  British  capital 
would  be  invited  to  finance  this  railway.  The  intention  of  the 
bankers  to  participate  in  this  loan  was  communicated  in  June  by 
the  American  representatives  abroad  to  the  governments  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Germany,  who  had  already  contracted  for  the 
loan.  In  July  it  was  definitely  decided  that  the  Americans  should 
share  in  the  loan,  they  to  have  one-fourth  and  the  other  three- 
fourths  going  to  British,  French  and  German  interests.  In  addi- 
tion Americans  were  to  have  an  equal  oportunity  to  supply  material 
for  the  main  line  and  all  its  branches,  to  appoint  subordinate  engi- 
neers, and  to  share  in  all  future  loans. 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  1909,  Russia  and  China  drew  up 
a  convention,  giving  Russia  the  control  of  the  municipalities  along 
the  Russian  section  of  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway.  By  this 
means  Russia  would  gain  absolute  control  of  the  railway.  Against 
the  ratification  of  this  treaty  the  United  States  protested,  claiming 
that  it  was  a  violation  of  the  "open  door"  principle. 

Diplomatic  relations  between  Japan  and  China  were  near  the 
breaking-point  in  the  summer  of  this  year.  Japan  wished  to  widen 
the  gauge  to  the  standard  and  to  generally  alter  the  construction 
of  the  Antung-Mukden  Railroad,  claiming  a  right  to  do  so  by  the 
terms  of  the  Peking  Treaty  of  1905,  which  says  that  "China  agrees 
that  Japan  has  the  right  to  improve  the  Antung-Mukden  Railroad 
so  as  to  make  it  fit  for  the  conveyance  of  commercial  goods  of  all 
nations."  But  on  September  4,  a  treaty  between  the  two  nations 
was  signed  at  Peking  in  which  China  agreed:  (i)  Not  to  construct 
the  Hsinmintum-Fakumen  Railroad  without  consulting  Japan. 
(2)  In  the  event  that  the  Kirin  Railroad  be  extended  to  the  Korean 
border  half  the  capital  required  will  be  borrowed  from  Japan.  (3) 
Japan  is  to  have  the  right  to  work  the  mines  in  the  Fushun  and 
Yentai  districts.  (4)  Japan  will  construct  the  extension  of  the 
Yinkow  Railroad.  (5)  There  shall  be  joint  exploitation  of  the 
mines  in  the  zones  reached  by  the  Manchurian  and  Antung-Muk- 


322b  CHINA 

1906-1910 

den  Railroad  lines.  (6)  China  agrees  to  open  four  trade  marts  in 
the  Chientao  district,  between  Korea  and  Manchuria;  the  Koreans 
living  therein  shall  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Japan,  while  those 
residing  outside  the  marts  shall  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  China, 
except  that  Japan  shall  have  the  right  to  hold  court  in  cases  calling 
for  the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty.  (7)  China  agrees  that  Japan 
move  the  station  of  the  South  Mianchurian  Railroad  to  Mukden. 

In  consideration  of  these  concessions,  Japan  agreed:  (i)  To 
recognize  Chinese  sovereignty  in  the  Chientao  district.  (2)  That 
the  terminus  of  the  Hsinmintum  Railroad  be  the  city  of  Mukden. 
(3)  To  indemnify  the  owners  of  the  Fushun  and  Yentai  mines. 

There  is  liable  to  be  trouble  between  Russia  and  China  be- 
cause of  the  former's  determination  to  interfere  in  the  administra- 
tion of  Manchuria,  China  resenting  Russia's  policy  to  the  extent 
of  protesting  on  December  5,  1909,  to  the  powers  with  regard  to  it. 
The  most  important  matter  before  the  Chinese  government  at  pres- 
ent (1910),  is  that  with  regard  to  Macao,  the  little  four  miles  square 
Chinese  seaport,  occupied  by  the  Portuguese.  China  made  formal 
complaint  to  Japan,  in  the  latter  part  of  1909,  that  it  was  violating 
the  Manchuria  telegraph  convention,  thus  showing  that  she  does 
not  propose  to  allow  any  infringement  upon  her  rights  by  other 
powers. 

China  at  present  is  clearly  in  a  state  of  great  unrest.  The 
spirit  of  progress  is  fully  aroused.  Its  manifestations  are  often 
unwise,  but  although  there  may  be  serious  mistakes  and  even  revo- 
lutionary outbreaks  from  time  to  time,  there  seems  every  reason 
to  believe  that  China  will,  in  the  not  distant  future,  press  forward 
toward  a  better  condition.  With  her  enormous  resources  and  with 
the  ability  and  training  of  her  people,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
when  this  movement  shall  have  become  normal,  China  will  have 
become  one  of  the  great  world  powers. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

GENERAL  HISTORIES 

Boulger,  Demetrius  Charles. — "  History  of  China."     London,  1885.     3  vols. 

An  accurate  and  pleasantly  written  history. 
Brinkley,  Frank. — "  China :  Its  History,  Arts  and  Literature."    Boston  and  Tokyo, 
1902.    4  vols. 

Probably  the  best  late  account  of  Chinese  history,  government,  arts,  and 

literature.     One  volume   is   devoted  practically  entirely  to   Chinese  porce- 
lain.    The  books  are  beautifully  printed  and  illustrated. 
Degfuignes,  Joseph. — "  Hist  aire  generate  des  Huns,  des  Tures,  des  Mongols,  et 
des  autres  Tartars  occidentaux."    Paris,  1756-1758.    4  vols. 

The  value  of  this  work  is  emphasized  by  the  meagerness  of  the  general 

literature  of  the  subject. 
Howorth,  Henry  Hoyle. — "  History  of  the  Mongols  from  the  Ninth  to  the  Nine- 
teenth Century."    London,  1876-1880.    2  vols. 

Not  of  high  merit,  but  useful. 
Macgowan,  James. — "A  History  of  China."     Shanghai    (Presbyterian  Mission 
Press).  1897. 

One  of  the  best  of  the  histories  of  medium  size. 
Mailla,  J.  A.  M.  de  M.  de. — "  Histoire  generate  de  la  Chine."    Paris,  1776-1785. 
12  vols. 

An  authority  for  the  early  history. 
Parker,   Edward  Harper. — "  China :   Her  History,  Diplomacy   and   Commerce." 
London,  190 1. 

A  practical  study  of  Chinese  conditions,  economic,  political,  and  social,  by  a 

former  British  consul  in  China  who  has  kept  up  his  intimate  acquaintance 

with  China  and  the  Chinese. 
"  China  Past  and  Present."    London,  1903. 

Perhaps  the  best  of  the  author's  two  works  on  China,  showing  an  intimate 

knowledge  of  the  life  of  the  Chinese. 
Williams,  Samuel  Wells. — "  Middle  Kingdom."    2d  edition.    New  York,  1883. 

Must  always  rank  first  among  books  which  treat  of  China. 
"  A  History  of  China."    New  York,  1897. 

This  new  edition  is  the  historical  chapters  from  "The  Middle  Kingdom," 

with    a   concluding   chapter   narrating   recent    events    by    Frederick    Wells 

Williams. 


SPECIAL   PERIODS 

Brine,  Lindesay. — "  The  Taeping  Rebellion."    London,  1862. 

An  account  by  an  English  contemporary. 
Clarke,  George  Sydenham. — "China-Japan  War  of  1894-1895.'*. 

325 


Site  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


i 


Comaby,  Hon.  A. — "China  under  the  Search  Light."    London,  1901. 

Brief  account  covering  Boxer  troubles,  by  a  Chinese-speaking  missionary. 
"The  Crisis  in  China."    New  York,  1900.  . 

This  is  a  collection  of  articles  reprinted  from  The  North  American  Review 

because  of  their  living  value. 
Curzon,    The    Right   Honourable    George    N. — "  Problems    of    the    Far    East." 
London,  1896. 

The  book  contains  one  part  on  China  and  Korea,  and  is  specially  valuable 

from  the  important  political  position  held  by  the  author,  the  former  viceroy 

of  India. 
Douglas,  Robert  Kenneway. — "Europe  and  the  Far  East"     University   Press, 
Cambridge,  1904. 

A  late  study,  chiefly  political. 
Foster,  John  Watson. — "American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient."     Boston,  1903. 

A   trustworthy   history   by    a   distinguished    diplomatist,    who    is    strongly 

sympathetic  with  China. 
Hart,  Sir  Robert. — "  These  from  the  Land  of  Sinim."    London,  1903. 

An  account  and  explanation  of  the  Boxer  troubles  by  the  Inspector  General 

of  Chinese  Imperial  Customs  and  Posts.    There  is  no  better  informed  man 

in   the   Empire,   and  no  other  foreigner   who  has   had   so   successful   and 

influential  a  connection  with  the  Chinese  Government. 
Headland,  Isaac  Taylor. — "  Chinese  Heroes."     New  York,  1902. 

A  record  of  persecution  endured  by  native  Christians  in  the  Boxer  uprising. 
Hosie,  Alexander. — "  Manchuria :   Its  People,  Resources,  and  Recent  History." 
London,  1901. 

Perhaps  the  best  account  of  political  and  economic  conditions  in  Manchuria 

before  1900,  by  a  former  member  of  the  British  consular  service. 
Inouye,  Jukicki. — "The  Japan-China  War."    Shanghai  (Kelly  and  Walsh),  1895. 

The  official  history  of  the  war. 
Krausse,  Alexis. — "  China  in  Decay."    2d  edition.     London,  1900. 

A  successful  attempt  to  provide  general  readers  with  a  summary  of  Chinese 

politics  and  history  sufficient  to  understand  the  present  position  of  affairs 

in  the  decaying  empire. 
Lynch,  George. — "  War  of  the  Civilizations."     New  York,  1901. 

An  account  of  China,  during  the  Boxer  uprising  in  1900. 
Martin,  William  Alexander  Parsons. — "  The  Siege  in  Peking."   New  York,  1900. 

An  interesting  and  authentic  account  by  an  author  who  has  made  valuable 

additions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  people. 
Mayers,  William  Frederick. — "  Treaties  between  the  Empire  of  China  and  Foreign 
Powers."    Shanghai,  1902. 

Very  complete,  especially  as  to  treaties  and  conventions. 
Miner,  Luella. — "  Two  Heroes  of  Cathay."     New  York,  1903. 

The  adventures  of  two  young  Chinese  Christians  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer 

uprising. 
Smith,  Arthur  Henderson. — "  China  in  Convulsion."    New  York,  1901.    2  vols. 

Probably  the  most  complete  account  of  the  Boxer  uprising. 
"  Rex  Christus."    New  York,  1903. 

A  brief  account  of  missionary  work  in  China. 
Taylor,  Meadows. — "The  Chinese  and  their  Rebellions."    London,  1856. 
Temple,  Sir  Richard. — "  The  Progress  of  India,  Japan,  and  China   in  the  Nine- 
teenth Century."    London,  1902. 
Wildman,  Rounsevelle. — "  China's  Open  Door."    Boston,  1900. 

Clear  and  concise  in  language,  and  easy  to  understand. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  8«7 


RELIGION   AND   LITERATURE 

Clarke,  James  Freeman. — "Ten  Great   Religions:    An   Essay  in   Comparative 
Theology."    Boston,  1871. 
The  description  of  Confucianism  is  scholarly  and  interestingly  written. 

"  Confucius  and  the  Chinese  Classics."     Translated  by  J.  Legge,  edited  by 

Augustus  W.  Loomis.    San  Francisco,  1867. 
The  four  books  of  the  Chinese  Classics :  "  Confucian  Analects,"  "  The  Great 
Learning,"  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,"  and  "  Mencius." 
Comaby,  W.  Arthur. — "  A  String  of  Chinese  Peach- Stones."    London,  1895. 

A   collection   of   Chinese   legends,    stories,   etc.,   written   in   an   interesting 
manner.      It    gives    an    insight    into    Chinese    ways    not    readily    obtained 
elsewhere. 
Headland,  Isaac  Taylor. — "The  Chinese  Boy  and  Girl."    New  York,  Chicago, 
Toronto,  1901. 
A  book  for  children,  giving  plays  and  stories  of  Chinese  children. 

"  Chinese  Mother  Goose  Rh)rmes.    Translated  and  Illustrated."    New  York, 

Chicago,  Toronto,  1900. 
A  book  for  children,  which  throws  much  light  on  Chinese  family  life  and 
characteristics. 
Ku    Hung-Ming. — "The    Discourses    and    Sayings    of    Confucius."      Shanghai 
(Kelly  and  Walsh),  1901. 
Translated  and  illustrated,  with  quotations  from  Goethe  and  other  writers. 
Martin,   William  Alexander   Parsons. — "The  Chinese:   Their  Education,   Phil- 
osophy, and  Letters."    New  York,  1881. 

"  The  Lore  of  Cathay."    New  York,  1901. 

An   account  of  the   Chinese   intellectual  life  as   shown   by  the   literature, 
philosophy,  and  ways  of  living. 
Smith,  Arthur  H. — "  Proverbs  and  Common  Sayings  from  the  Chinese."    Shang- 
hai (Presbyterian  Mission  Press),  1902. 
The  proverbs  are  explained  in  many  cases  by  calling  attention  to  the  customs 
to  which  they  have  special  application.     The  book  is,  therefore,  very  en- 
lightening and  interesting. 
"The  Four  Books  of  the  Chinese  Classics:  The  Great  Learning,  The  Doc- 
trine of  the  Mean,  Confucian  Analects,  and  the  Works  of  Mencius."   Both 
the  Chinese  text  and  the  English  equivalent  are  here  given.    Hongkong, 
1898. 

"The  Sacred  Books  of  China:  The  Texts  of  Confucianism."     Translated 

by  James  Legge  in  the  series  "  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,"  edited  by 
Max  Miiller.  Vols.  Ill,  XVI,  XXVII  and  XXVIIL  The  Clarendon 
Press.    Oxford,  1879,  1882,  1885. 

TRAVEL    AND    DESCRIPTION 

Ball,  J.  Dyer. — "Things  Chinese."   Hongkong,  Shanghai    (Kelly  and  Walsh), 
1903. 
A  small  encyclopedia  arranged  alphabetically. 
Beresford,  Lord  Charles. — "The  Break-up  of  China."    New  York  and  London, 

1899. 
Reports  by  a  competent  observer  of  a  short  trip  made  at  the  instance  of  the 
Associated  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in  London. 


828  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Colquhoun,  Archibald  Ross. — "  Overland  to  China."    New  York,  1900. 

"  China  in  Transformation."     New  York,  1898. 

Intended  for  the  general  reader  and  not  the  student. 

Dickinson,  G.  Lowes. — "Letters  from  a  Chinese  Official."    New  York,  1903. 
An  eloquent  imaginary  criticism  of  western  religious  and  social  customs  as 
contrasted  with  those  of  China.    Most  interesting. 

Doolittle,  Justus. — "  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese."    New  York,  1867.    2  vols. 

Douglas,  Robert  Kenneway. — "  Society  in  China."     London,  1901. 
One  of  the  best  accounts  of  social  customs. 

Edkins,  J. — "  The  Revenue  and  Taxation  of  the  Chinese  Empire."     Shanghai 
(Presbyterian  Mission  Press),  1903. 
Unsystematic,  but  containing  information  which   is   not   readily   accessible 
elsewhere. 

Galland,  W.  G. — "  Chinese  Porcelain."     London,  1902. 

The  best  of  the  smaller  and  less  expensive  works  on  the  subject. 

Giles,  Herbert  A. — "A  Glossary  of  Reference  on  Subjects  connected  with  the 
Far  East."    Shanghai  (Kelly  and  Walsh),  1900. 
Brief  encyclopedia  arranged  alphabetically. 

Gorst,  Harold  Edward. — "China."     New  York,  1899. 

Places  before  the  reader  the  most  important  factors  in  the  Far  Eastern 
problem,  laying  particular  stress  on  the  Chinese  point  of  view. 

Halde,  Jean  Baptiste  du. — "Description  Geographique  etc.,  de  la  Chine."    Paris, 
1735-    English  translation,  London,  1735-1741. 

Holcombe,  Chester. — "The  Real  Chinese  Question."     London,  1901. 

A  study  of  Chinese  problems  by  a  former  interpreter,  secretary  of  legation, 
and  active  minister  of  the  United  States  at  Peking.  Interesting  and 
S3rmpathetic. 

Hosie,  Alexander. — "Three  Years  in  Western  China."    London,  1890. 

Jernigan,  Thomas  R. — "  China  in  Law  and  Commerce."     New  York,  1905. 

Practically  a  revised  edition  of  a  former  work,  "  China's  Business  Methods 
and  Policy,"  published  in  Shanghai  by  a  former  American  consul-general  at 
Shanghai;  covers  a  field  not  well  worked  by  others,  and  very  helpful, 
although  at  times  not  complete;  criticised  somewhat  for  inaccuracy  by  old 
residents  in  China. 

Journal  of  the  American  Asiatic  Association.    New  York. 

A  monthly  periodical  giving  much  information  regarding  China. 

Ku  Hung-Ming. — "  Papers  from  a  Viceroy's  Yamen."     Shanghai,  1901. 

A  discussion  of  the  various  questions  in  connection  with  the  religion,  gov- 
ernment, and  foreign  relations  of  China,  by  a  very  intelligent,  well  read, 
though  rather  bitterly  anti-foreign  Chinese,  who  has  served  as  secretary  to 
important  viceroys,  and  who  now  himself  holds  an  influential  office. 

Leroy-Beaulieu,  Pierre. — "  The  Awakening  of  the  East."    New  York,  1900. 

Primarily  a  study  of  the  political  and  social  situation  in  Japan,  Siberia,  and 
China,  the  result  largely  of  personal  observations. 

Lewis,  Robert  E. — "The  Educational  Conquest  of  the  Far  East."     New  York, 
1903. 
Perhaps   the  best   source   of   information   on   the   educational    work   done 
especially  by  foreigners  and  missionaries. 

Martin,  William  Alexander  Parsons.—"  A  Cycle  of  Cathay."    New  York,  1900. 
An  account  of  the  active  life  of  the  Chinese  by   a  veteran  teacher   and 
observer. 

"Report   of   the    System   of   Public   Instruction   in    China."    Washington, 

1879. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  329 

Medhurst,  Walter  Henry. — "  China :  Its  State  and  Prospects."    London,  1838. 

Morrison,  G.  E. — "  An  Australian  in  China."    London,  1892. 

A  most  interesting  account  of  a  trip  from  Peking  across  China  to  Burma 
by  the  present  correspondent  of  the  London  Times. 

Moule,  Arthur  Evans. — "  New  China  and  Old."    London,  1892. 
Valuable  for  its  comparisons. 

Nichols,  Francis  H. — "  Through  Hidden  Shensi."    New  York,  1902. 
An  interesting  account  of  a  trip  to  the  center  of  China, 

North  China  Herald,  The.    Shanghai. 

A  weekly  periodical  containing  all  important  editorials  and  the  most  import- 
ant items  from  the  North  China  Daily  News.  Doubtless  the  best  paper 
published  in  English  in  China.  A  mine  of  information  on  all  Chinese 
affairs. 

Parker,  Edward  Harper. — "John  Chinaman."     London,  1901. 

A  graphic  account  largely  reminiscent  of  personal  experience,  interesting, 
but  less  valuable  than  the  author's  other  works. 

Parsons,  William  Barclay. — "  An  American   Engineer  in  China."     New   York, 
1900. 
An  account  of  the  author's  surveying  trip  across  the  province  of  Hunan  for 
the  Canton-Hankow  Railroad,  with  some  study  of  the  economic  conditions. 
Well  written  and  suggestive. 

Piton,  Charles. — "La  Chine:  sa  religion,  ses  moeurs,  ses  missions."  Paris,  1902. 
An  account  of  mission  work  by  a  foreign  French  priest,  with  some  study  of 
the  customs.    Interesting  and  authoritative. 

Reports  of  the  Commission  on  International  Exchange,  1903  and  1904.  Washing- 
ton (Government  printing  office). 
Contain,  besides  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  for  a  uniform 
monetary  system  for  China,  also  outlines  of  discussions  on  important  points, 
and  in  the  appendices,  a  mass  of  material  regarding  the  monetary  situation 
in  China,  as  well  as  monetary  problems  in  Mexico,  the  Philippines,  and 
elsewhere. 

Ross,  John. — "  Mission  Methods  in  Manchuria."  Edinburgh  and  London,  1903. 
A  study  of  mission  work  in  a  part  of  China  seldom  reported  upon. 

Scidmore,  Eliza  Ruhamah. — "  China,  The  Long-Lived  Empire."    London,  1900. 
A   picturesque,   well   written,   interesting  compilation   by   a   competent   ob- 
server. 

Selby,  Thomas  G. — "  As  the  Chinese  See  Us."    London,  190T. 

A  suggestive  book,  but  adversely  criticised  by  some  good  authorities. 

Smith,  Arthur  Henderson. — "  Village  Life  in  China."    New  York,  1899. 

The  best  account  of  life  in  the  country  districts,  affording  the  reader  an 
intimate  view  of  the  people  of  the  soil. 

"  Chinese  Characteristics."    New  York,  1894. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  author's  love  for  the  picturesque  may  incline 
him  sometimes  to  too  severe  a  characterization,  this  book  is  as  yet  unrivaled 
as  the  best  account  of  Chinese  manners  and  customs.  The  subject  matter 
is  one  of  extreme  fascination,  and  the  book  is  sure  to  furnish  a  store  of 
interesting  information  to  the  reader. 

Williamson,  Alexander. — "Journeys  in  North  China."    London,  1870.    2  vols. 
Published  more  than  a  quarter  century  ago,  but  still  ranking  among  the  best 
descriptive  works. 

Wilson,  James  Harrison. — "  China :   Travels   and   Investigations  in  the  Middle 
Kingdom."    3d  edition.     New  York,  1901. 
Especially  good  for  a  study  of  Chinese  manners  and  customs. 


830 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Yule,  Sir  Henry. — "  The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian,  concerning  the 

Kingdoms  and  Marvels  of  the  East."     Translated  and  edited  with  notes. 

3d  edition  revised  throughout  in  the  light  of  recent  discoveries  by  Henri 

Cordier  of  Paris.    London,  1903.    2  vols. 

Marco   Polo's  narrative,  dictated  to  a  fellow  captive  while  a  prisoner  at 

Genoa,  introduced  "  Cathay "  to  the  people  of  Europe  and  obtained  a  wide 

popularity.    Its  value  is  unique,  both  historically  and  from  a  literary  point 

of  view. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Ahluta,   Empress,   230;   death   of,   237; 

funeral  of,  241 
Akkadia:    philological    connection    with 

China,  4 
Akwei,  General,  93 ;  his  campaign  against 

the  Miaotzu,  95 
Albazin :  destruction  of  fort  at,  67 
Alcock,  Sir  Rutherford:  British  consul, 

145 

Alexiev,  Russian  admiral,  311 

Alikun,  General,  93 

Amaral,  Signer:  murdered  at  Macao, 
146 

Ament,  Dr.,  American  missionary,  300 

Americans:  favor  shown  to,  166;  troops 
of,  in  Japan,  306;  commerce  of,  af- 
fected by  Russia  in  Manchuria,  310; 
hostility  toward,  319;  secure  rail- 
way concessions,  319.  See  also 
Ament,  Burgevine,  Burlingame, 
Conger,  Denby,  KempfF,  Roosevelt 
and  Ward 

Amherst,  Lord:  sent  as  ambassador  to 
Peking,  120 

Amiot,  Father:  expelled  from  Peking, 
117 

Amoy:  capture  of,  138 

Amursana,  mongol  chief:  aids  Davatsi, 
85 ;  death  of,  86 

Anstruther,  Captain,  R.  A.,  136 

Army,  the  Chinese:  in  Boxer  rebellion, 
279;  armament  of,  208;  in  Chino- 
Japanese  war,  246;  in  siege  of  lega- 
tions, 283;  reform  in  military  sys- 
tem of,  290,  318 

Arrow,  The:  seizure  of,  158 

Arthur,  Port:  see  Port  Arthur 

Asan :  battle  of,  266 

Attiret,  Jesuit  missionary,  88 

Audience  Question,  The,  80,  231,  232; 
ambassadors  received  within  the 
palace,  258,  259,  260;  direct  access 
to  emperor  granted,  286;  see  also 
K'ot'ow,  The 


B 


Babylonia:  its  affinities  with  China,  4 

Bank-notes,  Early  Chinese,  19,  21 

Bashpa's  Alphabet,  25 

Blagovestchensk :   massacre  at,  309,  311 

Board  of  Foreign  Office:  see  Tsungli 
Yamen 

Board  of  Punishments :  see  Hsing  Pu. 

Bouvet,  Jesuit  missionary,  77 

Bowring,  Sir  John,  157 

Boxer  Rebellion,  The :  account  of,  275, 
296;  Japan  prominent  in  suppression 
of,  311;  indirect  results  of,  318 

Boxers,  The:  meaning  of  term,  280; 
slaughtered  by  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  298 

Bremer,  Sir  Gordon,  134 

Brocart,  Jesuit  missionary,  77 

Brooks,  Mr. :  English  missionary,  298 

Bruce,  Sir  Frederick:  arrives  at  Shang- 
hai, 169;  presents  ultimatum,  170 

Buddhism,  13,  14,  23 

Burgevine:  American  filibuster,  189,  195 

Burlingame,  Anson:  success  of  mission 
of,  221 

Burma,  Upper:  ceded  to  England,  252 


Calendar,  The  Chinese,  39 

Canals  in  China,  4,  32 

Canton:  opposition  to  foreigners  in, 
126,  142,  147,  157;  disputes  over 
opium  trade  in,  127;  opened  to  the 
British,  145;  taken  by  the  English, 
160,  162;  made  safe  for  foreigners, 
168 

Carpini,  John  de  Piano:  Catholic  mis- 
sionary, 18 

Castiglione,  Jesuit  missionary,  88 

Catchpoole,  British  consul,  108 

Cathay:  origin  of  name,  16;  described 
by  early  missionaries,  18 

Cathcart,  Colonel:  ambassador  to  Pe- 
king, no 


33S 


334 


INDEX 


Catholic  Missionaries:  see  Roman  Cath- 
olic Missionaries 

Centurion,  H.  M.  S. :  arrival  of, 
io8 

Chang,  Prince,  302 

Chang  Ch'ien:  visits  Central  Asia,  13 

Ch'ang  Chih-tung  in  Boxer  movement, 
304;  ousts  Americans  from  railway 
concessions,  319 

Chao,  General:  his  victories  in  Central 
Asia,  86;  his  death,  87 

Chefoo  Convention,  The :  see  Chifu  Con- 
vention 

Cheng,  General,  201 

Cheng    Chihlung:  account  of,  57 

Cheng  Te,  General,  100 

Chengt'ung,  Emperor:  taken  prisoner, 
32 

Chen  Kwojui :  directs  attack  on  mission- 
aries, 225;  career  of,  227 

Ch'enyuan:  story  of,  52 

Chiaching,  Emperor:  reign  of,  35 

Chiach'ing,  Emperor:  accession  of,  1 16; 
attempts  to  assassinate,  117;  death 
of,  122;  character  of,  123 

Chieh  Kwei,  Emperor:  reign  of,  6 

Ch'ienlung,  Emperor:  accession  of,  82; 
his  clemency,  83;  his  war  with 
Burma,  93;  greatest  of  Manchu 
rulers,  103;  abdication  of,  115 

Ch'ien  Men  Gate,  The:  destruction  of, 
300 

Chifu  (Chefoo)  Convention,  The,  241 

Chihli:  anti-foreign  demonstrations  in, 
278,  299;  foreign  troops  commit 
outrages  in,  306 

Ch'ihsiu:  sentenced,  285 

Ch'in  Dynasty,  The,  10 

Chin  Dynasty,  The  Western,  14 

China:  early  history  of  the  empire,  3; 
the  Yuan  and  Ming  dynasties,  17; 
rise  of  the  Manchus,  42 ;  the  reigns  of 
Yungcheng  and  Ch'ienlung,  78;  the 
opening  of  diplomatic  intercourse 
with  foreign  nations,  107;  the  reign 
of  Chiach'ing  and  the  first  years  of 
his  successor,  116;  foreign  relations 
and  the  Opium  War  with  England, 
127;  the  second  foreign  war,  155; 
Anglo-French  wars,  169;  the  T'ai- 
p'ing  Rebellion,  193;  the  Nienfei 
and  Mohammedan  Rebellions,  209; 
the  last  years  of  T'ungchih  and  the 


accession  of  Kwanghsii,  223;  the 
war  with  Japan,  265 ;  reforms,  reac- 
tion and  the  Boxer  Rebellion,  275; 
the  coup  d'etat  of  1898,  289;  the 
Boxer  movement,  296;  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war,  308;  the  present  sit- 
uation, 318 

Chinese  Empire,  The:  establishment  of, 
II ;  character  of,  66,  103,  244 

Chinese  Exclusion  Act,  The  United 
States,  319 

Chinese  People,  The:  early  records  of, 
3;  characteristics  of,  3,  7,  88,  146, 
147,  162,  176,  285;  in  diplomatic 
relations,  37,  115,  167,  173,  176,  265, 
284;  as  opponents  in  war,  48,  172, 
269 

Ch'ing  Dynasty,  The :  established,  49 

Ching,  Prince,  278;  appointed  plenipo- 
tentiary, 285,  303;  accepts  terms  of 
peace  with  powers,  286 

Chinhai:  capture  of,  138 

Chinkiang:  capture  of,  140 

Chino-Japanese  War:  account  of,  265; 
effects  of,  275,  290,  313 

Chow  Dynasty,  The,  8 

Chow  Sin,  Emperor,  7 

Christianity:  progress  of,  38,  attitude  of 
emperors  toward,  73,  78,  80,  262; 
agitation  against,  76;  murder  of  na- 
tive Christians,  304;  see  also  Mis- 
sionaries and  Roman  Catholic  Mis- 
sionaries 

Christians,  Native :  murdered  by  Boxers, 

304 

Chu:  see  Hungwu,  Emperor 

Chuang,  Prince:  sentence  of,  285 

Chumbi  Valley:  British  occupation  of, 
316,  317 

Chung  How:  appointed  to  investigate 
massacre  of  Christians,  224;  sent  to 
Paris,  227 

Chunghwan:  marches  on  Peking,  47; 
executed,  48 

Chung  Wang:  in  T'aip'ing  Rebellion, 
193;  his  death,  205 

Cochin  China:  embassies  from,  8;  con- 
quered, 13 ;  revolution  in,  99 

Confucius,  Chinese  philosopher:  as  his- 
torian, 5,  7,  8;  influence  of,  8,  9,  10, 

25,  34,  243 
Conger,   Edwin   Hurd,   American   Min- 
ister, 29^ 


INDEX 


S35 


Conger,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  wife  of  American 
minister:  infuence  of,  307 

Coup  d'Etat  of  1898:  account  of,  289; 
prominence  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai  in, 
298 


Dalai  Lama,  The:  Galdan's  alliance 
with,  70;  seeks  aid  from  Peking, 
10 1 ;  flight  of,  from  Lhasa,  316 

Dalny,  Port  of,  310;  Russia  cedes  lease 
of,  314 

D'Andrade,  Don  Fernao  Peres,  32 

Dardsha:  usurps  power,  85 

Davatsi :  opposes  Dardsha,  85 

Davis,  Sir  John,  143 

Denby,  Charles:  American  minister  to 
China,  298 

Denmark:  treaty  with,  221 

Dominicans,  The:  arrive  in  China,  40, 
7Z 

Dorgun,  Manchu  Regent:  account  of, 53 

Dowager  Empress's  Jubilee  (1752),  87 

Dowager  Empress,  coup  d'etat  of  (1898), 
277 ;  adopts  reform  measures,  322 

Dutch  Embassy  (1664),  59 


Education :  adoption  of  western  methods 
in,  290;  blunders  in  effort  at  reform 
in,  321 

Elepoo:  see  Ilipu 

Elgin,  Lord:  appointed  British  ambas- 
sador, 160;  arrives  at  Hongkong, 
161;  presents  ultimatum,  162;  ar- 
rives at  Tientsin,  165,  175;  goes  to 
Peiho,  165;  signs  treaty,  166;  ad- 
vances toward  Peking,  177;  signs 
treaty  in  Peking,  185;  again  ap- 
pointed ambassador,  278 

Elliot,  Captain:  in  Opium  War,  130 

Emperor  of  China:  title  first  assumed 
by  Manchu  ruler,  49 

Empire,  The  Chinese:  see  Chinese  Em- 
pire,^ The 

England*  see  Great  Britain 

Empress  Dowager:  see  Dowager  Em- 
press 

Euclid:  translated  into  Chinese,  34.  77 


F 


Fahsien :  his  expedition  to  India,  14 

Famine  in  North  China,  242 

Favier,  Bishop :  quoted,  299 

Fei,  General  (1695-1696),  70 

Fengshui,  The,  256 

Feng   Tai:  Boxer  outrages  at,  300 

Finance:  reforms  in,  275 

Flint,   Mr.:   pioneer  of  commerce,  109 

Flood,  The  Great,  6 

Formosa,  Island  of :  Koxinga  establishes 

himself  in,  60,  97;    trouble   in,  65, 

98;    massacre    of   English    in,    143; 

ceded  to  Japan,  270 
Foochow:    destruction  of  Chinese   fleet 

at,  249 
Foumier,  Captain:  negotiates  in  matter 

of  Tongking,  248 
Fuhsi:  invents  written  characters,  $ 
Fu  K'angfan,  General,  98,  102 
Fu  Te,  General.  97 
Fu  Wang:  made  emperor,  55;  flight  of, 

56 


Galdan,  the  chief  of  the  Eleuths:  ac- 
count of,  66;  defeat  of,  69;  death 
of,  71 

George  III:  letter  of,  119 

Gerbillon,  Jesuit  missionary,  67,  77 

Germany:  in  relation  to  China,  264,  272, 
296 

Go  Huei,  General,  100 

Goloyken,  Count:  his  embassy  from 
Russia,  120 

Gordon,  General:  takes  command  of 
Ever  Victorious  Army,  199;  cap- 
tures Kunshan,  201 ;  retires  from 
force,  202;  retakes  command,  203; 
resigrns,  204 

Gough,  Sir  Hugh:  British  commander, 

137 

Grant,  Sir  Hope:  takes  command  of 
British  force,  171 

Great  Britain :  commercial  relations 
opened  with,  107;  Opium  War  with, 
127;  in  second  foreign  war,  155; 
in  Anglo-French  wars,  169;  Bur- 
lingame  treaty  with,  221 ;  commer- 
cial concessions  to,  273;  protests 
against  action  of  Russia,  311;  signs 


336 


INDEX 


treaty  with  Japan  (1902),  312; 
signs  new  treaty  with  Japan  (1905), 
315;  dispute  with,  respecting  Tibet, 
316 

Great  Sword  Society,  The,  297 

Great  Wall,  The,  1 1 

Grosvenor:  appointed  secretary  of  lega- 
tion, 239 

Gurkhas :  seek  protection  from  Galdan, 
68;  at  war  with  China,  lOo;  sub- 
mission of,  103 


H,  I,  J 

Hamilton,  Port,  253 

Han  Dynasty,  The,  12 

Hangki,  175 

Hanlin  College:  established,  27,  28;  de- 
struction of,  283,  302 

Hart,  Sir  Robert;  his  services  to  China, 
250 

Hideyoshi :  invades  Korea,  2>7 

Ho,  Minister,  112;  sketch  of,  113,  114; 
arrested  and  put  to  death,  114 

Ho,  Duke :  chief  commissioner,  120 ;  dis- 
grace of,  121 

Holland :  treaty  with,  221 

Hongkong:  ceded  to  England,  135 

Hope,  Admiral :  defeated  at  Taku,  169 

Hsia  Dynasty,  The,  6 

Hsian  Fu:  Nestorian  monument  at  15; 
flight  of  court  to,  285,  303 

Hsienfeng,  Emperor :  accession  of,  155 ; 
death  of,  188 

Hsing  Pu  (Board  of  Punishments) ; 
description  of,  180 

Hsi  Wang:  rebel  leader,  60 

Hsii,  Minister,  282 

Hsii  Ch'engyii :  sentenced,  285 

Hsu  Ching-Chen:  in  Boxer  movement, 
302 

Hung  Hsiuts'uan,  founder  of  T'aip'ing 
Dynasty:  account  of,  147;  death  of, 
205 

Hsu  Tung:  made  plenipotentiary,  303 

Hwangchukki:  murder  of  Englishmen 
at,  147 

Hungfwu  (Chu),  Emperor:  account  of, 
26,  27;  death  of,  29 

Hwangti,  Emperor :  reign  of,  5 

Ilipu,  imperial  commissioner,  139,  141 


Imperial    University:    reorganized,   291 
India:  expedition  to,  13 
Industrial   Conditions:   effect  of  Chino- 
Japanese  war  on,  275 

James,  The  Rev.  Francis:  murder  of, 
302 

Japan:  pirates  from,  raid  Chinese  coast, 
23.  35;  invades  China,  35;  invades 
Korea,  36;  art  of,  influenced  by 
China,  39;  military  reforms  in,  246; 
in  Chino-Japanese  war,  265;  in 
Russo-Japanese  war,  308;  secures 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  312; 
signs  treaty  with  China,  315 

Jehangir,  124 

Jenghiz  Khan:  account  of,  17;  death  of, 
18 

Jen  Tsung,  Emperor,  25 

Jesuits,  The :  account  of  their  labors  in 
China,  zz,  34,  40,  -]},,  88 


K 


K'aifeng  Fu:  fall  of,  50 

K'ang:  flight  of,  278 

K'anghsi,  Emperor:  religious  views  of, 

39,  62;  offers  prayer  to  Shangti,  70;' 

diamond  jubilee  and  death  of,  70; 

literary  works  of,  72 
K'ang-yi :    influence    of,   278 ;    in    Boxer 

movement,  298;  made  grand  secre- 
tary, 302 
K'ang   Yuwei :   advocates   reforms,   275, 

276,    290;    abolishes    literary    essay, 

291 ;  escape  of,  293 
Kaoti,  Emperor:  his  rise  to  power,  12; 

revives    the    classics,     12;    general 

policy  of,  12 
Kempff,  Admiral:  commands  American 

fleet,  301 
Keppel,  Sir  Harry:  his  attack  on  native 

junks,  161 
Ketteler,   Baron   von:    murder   of,   282, 

301,  302;  memorial  tablet  to,  285 
Kiaochow:  seized  by  Germany,  264,  272, 

296 
Kiev:  the  Jerusalem  of  Russia,  18 
Kinshun,  General,  218 
Kishen:  career  of,  134,  137 
K'itan  Tartars,  16 


INDEX 


337 


Kiying:  at  Nanking,  141;  at  Canton, 
144,  147;  dismissed  from  office,  156 

Kolaohwei,  Secret  Society  of,  29,  55 

Komura,  Baron,  312 

Korea:  embassies  from,  8;  outbreak  in, 
244;  ex-regent  of,  deported,  245; 
convention  with,  251 ;  revolution  in, 
251;  war  in,  265;  in  Russo-Japa- 
nese dispute,  310;  Japan's  interests 
in,  313 ;  affected  by  treaty  of  Great 
Britain  with  Japan,  315 

K'ot'ow,  Ceremony  of  The,  59,  1 11,  120, 
232 

Koxinga:  his  origin  and  rise,  57;  his 
name,  58;  wins  victory  over  the 
Manchus,  58;  his  defeat  and  death, 
60 

Kublai  Khan,  founder  of  Mongol 
dynasty:  receives  Marco  Polo,  19; 
invades  and  conquers  China,  22;  ex- 
tent of  empire  of,  22;  religious 
toleration  of,  23;  defeated  by  the 
Japanese,  23;  death  of,  25 

Kukuo,   Prince:   sentenced,  305 

Kung,  Prince,  155 ;  in  command  at  Pe- 
king, 182 ;  opposes  palace  clique,  186 ; 
effects  a  coup  d'etat,  188;  dismissed 
and  reinstated,  235 ;  again  dismissed, 
248;  proposes  educational  reforms 
(1866),  260;  opposes  radical  re- 
forms, 290;  death  of,  276 

Kunshan  (Quinsan)  :  taken  by  Gordon, 
201 

Kwanghsii,  Emperor:  accession  of,  237; 
sketch  of,  289;  forced  to  abdicate, 
277,  294 

Kwang  Provinces,  The :  anti-Boxer  at- 
titude in,  278,  279 


Lan,    Duke:    sentenced   to   banishment, 

285 
Lao  Tsze:  founder  of  Taoism,  10 
Laws :  codification  of,  28 
Legations,  Siege  of,  283,  301,  302 
Li:    rebel    leader   captures    Peking,   51; 

defeated  by  Wu  Sankwei,  53;  death 

of,  54 
Liaotung    Peninsula:    ceded    to    Japan, 

310;  Japan  releases,  310 


Liaoyang,  Battle  of,  314 
Li  Han  Chang:  appointed  viceroy,  239 
Li  Hung  Chang:  secures  recognition, 
153;  in  T'aip'ing  Rebellion,  198; 
campaign  against  Nienfei  rebels, 
209;  takes  command  at  Tientsin, 
226;  urges  increase  of  military  de- 
fenses, 246;  concludes  peace,  270; 
sent  as  envoy  to  Japan,  270;  made 
viceroy  of  Kwang  provinces,  279; 
appointed  plenipotentiary,  285;  ac- 
cepts terms  of  peace  with  powers, 
286;  dismissed  from  Tsungli  Yamen, 
292;  appointed  minister  plenipoten- 
tiary, 303,  305 
Likin   Tax :   agreement   respecting,   273, 

318 
Lin,  Formosan  bandit:  account  of,  97 
Lin,  Commissioner:  sent  to  settle  opium 
disputes,    132;    disgraced,    134:    de- 
nounced by  Emperor,  135 
Lingeh'ih,  punishment   by,  62,  85   note, 

189 
Lin  K'un  Yi :  in  Boxer  rebellion,  304 
Li   Ping-Heng,  governor  of   Shantung: 
in  Boxer  rebellion,  279;  removal  of, 
297 
Li  T'aipo,  Chinese  poet,  15 
Literati,  The,  34,  38,  39,  60,  63,  78 
Literature,  Chinese :  native  histories,  5 ; 
influence  of  Confucius  on,  9;  burn- 
ing of  the  classics,  11;  recovery  of 
the   classics,    13 ;    Chinese   "  Augus- 
tian  Age,"  14;  influence  of  Mongols 
on,    26;    compilation    of   encyclope- 
dia,  31;    geographical    and   political 
records,     32;     advance     of,     under 
K'anghsi,  72 
Loch,  Sir  Henry :  in  Anglo-French  wars, 

174,  178,  179,  180,  184 
Loess  Formations,  The,  104 
Lo  Fengluh:  minister  to  Great  Britain, 
284 


M 


Ma:  leader  in  Mohammedan  Rebellion, 

211 
Macao:  taken  by  the  English,  119 
Macartney,    Sir    Halliday:    British   am- 
bassador to  Peking,  110;  arrives  at 
Tientsin,    iii;    arrives    at    Peking, 


338 


INDEX 


hi;  received  by  Emperor  at  Jehol, 
113;  returns  to  England,  114 

Maigrot,  Bishop:  visits  China,  74;  dis- 
credited by  emperor,  75 

Manchuria:  Russia's  interests  in,  286, 
312,  313,  314;  Japan's  position  in, 
315;  present  situation  in,  316 

Manchus,  The:  rise  of,  42;  retreat  of, 
48;  enter  Peking,  54;  successes  of, 

Mangu  Khan :  reign  of,  19 

Manning,  English  scholar  and  traveler, 

122 
Marco  Polo:  see  Polo,  Marco 
Margary,    English    missionary:    murder 

of,  239 
Marriage,   Imperial:   ceremony  of,  229, 

256 
Ma  Yuan,  celebrated  artist,  39 
Masampo,  Port  of,  311 
Medhurst,  British  consul,  221 
Mencius,  Chinese  philosopher,  6;  quoted, 

7,  9 
Menzes,  Don  Metello  Souza  y,  80 
Miaotzu,  The:  account  of,  94;  campaign 
against,     95;     treacherous     conduct 
toward,  96,  125 
Ming,  Dynasty,  The :  founded  by  Hung- 

wu,  27;  culture  of,  32,  39 
Missionaries:    first    sent   to   China,    18; 
success    of    Ricci,    38;    dissensions 
among,  40,  74;  jealousy  of,  81;  diffi- 
culties of,  83,  228;  attacks  on,  145; 
murdered  at  Hwashan,  263 ;  troubles 
of,  in  Shantung  province,  297;  mur- 
dered at  Yung  Ch'ing  Hsien,  300; 
Boxer    atrocities    against,    304;    be- 
friended by  Tuan  Fang,  305 ;  see  also 
Christianity    and    Roman    Catholic 
Missionaries 
Mohammedans :  persecuted  under  T'ang 
Dynasty,    15;    tolerated    by    Kublai 
Khan,   23;    establish    themselves    in 
Yunnan,    210;    attitude    of    Chinese 
toward,  228 
Money  and  Currency:  see  Banknotes 
Mongols,  growth  of  power  of,  17 
Mohammedan   Rebellion,   The:    account 

of,  210 
Morrison,  Dr. ;  on  substance  of  China- 
Japan  treaty,  316 
Moscow :  captured  by  Jenghiz  Khan,  18 
Moukden:    capital    removed    from,    54; 


Russia  proposes  political  resident  in, 
311;  battle  of,  314 
Mu  Wang,  Emperor :  his  prominence  in 
Chow  Dynasty,  8 

N,   O 

Nanking:  chosen  capital  by  Chu,  26,  28; 

T'aip'ing  disorder  in,  153,  193 
Nanking,  Treaty  of,  142 
Napier,  Lord:   arrives   at  Canton,   127; 

death  of,  129 
Navy,  Improvement  of  the,  252 
Nerchinsk,  Treaty  of,  67,  80 
Nestorian  Christians,  15,  19 
Newchwang:   treaty  port  of,   166,  311, 

Nien,  General :  account  of,  79 

Nienfei  Rebels,  209 

Ningpo:  occupation  of,  138 

Ningyuan:  defense  of,  46 

Nodzu,  General :  in  Chino-Japanese  war, 

268 
North  China  Herald,  The,  249 
Nurhachu,   Manchu   chieftain:    mythical 

account  of,  42;  conquers  China,  43; 

death  of,  46 

Osborn,    Captain    Sherard:    arrives    at 

Shanghai,  207 
Opium  War,  The :  account  of,  128 

P,  Q 

Pa  Chung,  General:  bribes  Gurkha  in- 
vaders, 100;  disgrace  and  suicide  of, 
102 
Pan  Ch'ao :  march  to  Khoten,  13 
Panshen   Lama,   The:    dies    at   Peking, 

100 
Pao  Ting  Fu :  Boxer  outrages  at,  300 
Parkes,  Sir  Harry:  sent  on  embassy  to 
Nanking,   145;   appointed  consul  at 
Canton,  158;  taken  prisoner,  179 
Peking:   made   capital   by   Yunglo,   30; 
taken  by  Manchus,  51 ;  made  capital 
by    Dorgun,    54;    treaty    signed    at, 
185;  siege  of  legations  in,  282,  300; 
court  returns  to,  307 
Peking  Gazette,  The,  130,  186  note,  234, 

236,  258,  277 
Pereira,  Jesuit  missionary,  67,  77 
Philippines,  The:   Spanish  and  Chinese 


I 


INDEX 


339 


settle  in,  37;  slaughter  of  the 
Chinese  in,  38 

Pingyang:  capture  of,  266 

Polo,  Marco:  reaches  court  of  Kublai 
Khan,  19;  detained  at  Mongol  court, 
24;  returns  to  Venice,  25 

Port  Arthur:  taken  by  Japanese,  268, 
309;  occupied  by  Russians,  296; 
Russia  cedes  lease  of,  314 

Portuguese:  commercial  enterprise  of, 
32;  massacred  at  Foochow,  33;  send 
troops  to  Peking,  44 

Portugal :  revision  of  treaty  with,  318 

Pottinger,  Sir  Henry:  appointed  minis- 
ter, 138;  concludes  treaty  of  Nan- 
king, 141 ;  sails  for  England,  143 

P'u     Chun:     nominated    heir-apparent, 

295 
Queue:  probable  origin  of,  45;  aboHsh- 

ment  of  proposed,  291 
Quinsan:  see  Kunshan 


Railroads:  opposed  by  Literati,  243;  de- 
struction of,  244;  foreign  construc- 
tion of,  275 ;   attacks  on  employees 
of,   299;    in   Russo-Japanese   treaty, 
314;  in  treaty  of  1905  between  Japan 
and  China,  315;  concessions  sought 
by  foreigners,  318,  319 
Railroad,  The  Siberian,  308 
Regency,  plot  to  retain  the,  236 
Ricci,  Matthew:  his  labors  in  China,  34 
Roman     Catholic     Missionaries:     early 
visits    of,    18,    38,    39;    dissensions 
among,  40,  72,  74;  favored  by  Shun- 
chih,     61 ;     zeal    of,    81 ;     persecu- 
tions of,  83;  prominence  of  French 
among,  114;  attacks  on,  297;  killed 
in  Boxer  Rebellion,  304 
Rome:  See  of,  15 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  president  of  the 
United  States:  intervention  in 
Russo-Japanese  war,  314;  favors 
commerical  treaty,  321 
Rubruquis,  Franciscan  friar,  18;  his  de- 
scription of  the  Chinese,  19 
Russia:  sends  embassy  to  China  (1664), 
59;  signs  treaty  of  Nerchinsk,  6fj', 
establishes  permanent  footing  in 
Peking,  80;  establishes  college  at 
Peking,    125;    concessions   to,   271; 


obstructive  policy  of,  272,  286,  306; 
in  Manchuria,  308 ;  in  Boxer  rebel- 
lion, 311 
Russo-Japanese  War,  The:  account  of, 
308 


Sankolinsin,  General,  171,  179 

Satchar,     Mongol    chieftain:     threatens 

frontier,  64 
Schaal,  John  Adam:  account  of,  39.  61; 

succeeded  by  Verbiest,  62 
Senhouse,  Sir  Fleming,  137 
Seymour,    Sir    Michael:    takes    Canton, 

160 
Seymour,  Admiral:  in  Boxer  Rebellion, 

281,  300,  304 
Shang  (Yin)  Dynasty,  The,  7 
Shanghai :  boycott  of  American  goods  at, 

320 
Shangti    Hui:    society    of,    established, 

148 
Shansi,  Province  of,  275,  282,  298 
Shantung:  Province  of,  278;  attacks  on 

foreigners  in,  299 
Shemarpa:  invites  invasion  by  Gurkhas, 

100 
Shennung,  Emperor:  reign  of,  5 
Shih  Hwangti:  establishes  Chinese  Em- 
pire, II 
Shih  K'ofa:  champions  the  Ming  cause, 

55 

Shun,  Emperor:  reign  of,  6 

Shunchih,  Emperor:  reign  of,  57 

Shu  Shun :  account  of,  188,  189 

Sian  Fu :  see  Hsian  Fu 

Siamese  Tribute,  118 

Smith,  Stanley :  quoted  on  siege  of  lega- 
tions, 284 

Soochow:  negotiations  for  surrender  of, 
203;  capture  of,  204 

Sij,  Prince,  301 

Sugiyama,  Japanese  diplomat:  murder 
of,  300,  301 

Sung,  Minister,  122 

Sweden :  treaty  with,  221 


T'aip'ing:  establishment  of  dynasty  of, 
151;  advance  on  Peking,  152;  re- 
treat to  Nanking,  153;  later  suc- 
cesses, I9S 


INDEX 


T'aki:  concubine  of  Chow  Sin,  7 

Taku  forts :  capture  of,  165 ;  defeat  be- 
fore, 170;  recapture  of,  172;  de- 
mands of  powers  respecting,  285, 
286;  in  Boxer  Rebellion,  301,  305 

T'ang  Dynasty,  The :  growth  of  litera- 
ture under,  14,  15 ;  conquests  of,  15 ; 
persecution  of  Christians  under,  16 

Taokwang,  Emperor:  his  accession,  123; 
his  martial   habits,   124;   his   death, 

155 

Tashilumbo:  taken  by  the  Gurkhas,  101 

Tau  Tze-tung :  executed,  294 

Taylor,  Hudson:  in  China  Inland  Mis- 
sion, 221 

Terrien  de  Lacouperie,  Professor,  4 

Texeira,  Gonsalvo  de,  44 

Thomas,  Jesuit  missionary,  "JJ 

Three  Kingdoms,  The,  13 

Tibet:  disputes  with  Great  Britain  re- 
specting, 316 

Tientsin:  massacre  at,  223;  invested  by 
troops,  281 ;  foreigners  refuse  escort 
to,  301 ;  rescue  party  from,  reaches 
Peking,  303 

T'ientsung,  Manchu,  founder  of  Ta 
Ch'ing  Dynasty:  account  of,  46 

Ting,  Admiral,  268;  suicide  of,  270 

Tinghai :  recapture  of,  138 

Ting  Yiich'uan,  celebrated  artist,  39 

Tong  Hak,  The :  revolt  of,  265 

Tongking:  war  in,  247;  conclusion  of 
peace,  250 

Tourgots :  flight  of,  89 

Tournon,  Charles  Maillard  de:  ap- 
pointed legate  from  Rome,  75 ;  issues 
decree  against  Jesuits,  76;  suspicious 
illness  of,  76;  death  of,  ^^ 

Treaty  Ports,  The,  273 

Triad  Society,  The,  148,  280 

Tseng  Kwof?n :  opposes  T'aip'ings,  149 ; 
captures  Nanking,  205;  at  Tientsin, 
224 

Tseng,  Marquis,  302 

Tsinliang,  female  chieftain,  46 

Tso  Chungt'ang :  in  Mohammedan  Re- 
bellions, 218 

T'sungcheng,  Emperor:  reign  of,  47 

Tsungli  Yamen  (Board  of  Foreign  Of- 
fice) :  establishment  of,  220;  in 
Boxer  Rebellion,  284,  299,  301,  303; 
powers  demand  abolishment  of,  286; 
superseded,  305 


Tsushima  Straits:  strategic  value  of, 
310 

Td,  Mohammedan  rebel,  211 

Tu  Fu,  Chinese  poet,  15 

Tuan  Fang:  in  Boxer  Rebellion,  304 

Tuan,  Prince:  in  Boxer  Rebellion,  279, 
302;  sentenced,  285,  305 

Tung  Chow :  Boxer  troubles  at,  300 

T'ungchih,  Emperor:  name  of,  selected, 
190;  marriage  of,  229;  assumes  con- 
trol of  the  empire,  230;  death  of, 
236 

Tung  Fuhsiang:  in  Boxer  Rebellion, 
279;  sentenced  to  banishment,  285 


U,   V 

United  States :  treaty  with,  221 ;  pro- 
tests against  action  of  Russia,  311; 
treaty  with,  revised,  318;  Chinese 
in,  320;  see  also  Americans 

Verbiest,    Pere:    secures    favor    of    the 

emperor,  62 
Vladislavitche,   Count   Sava:   arrives   at 

Peking,  80 
Vladivostock,  Russian  stronghold,  310 


W 


Wade,  Sir  Thomas:  sent  to  negotiate 
preliminary  convention,  177;  ar- 
ranges difficulty  between  China  and 
Japan,  235;  on  the  murder  of  Mar- 
gary,  240 ;  hauls  down  his  flag,  241 ; 
on  the  Tientsin  massacre,  365 

Walsham,  Sir  John,  262 

Wang,  Chao:  proposes  radical  reforms, 
291 

Wang  Wen  Shao:  in  Boxer  movement, 
302 

Wanli,  Emperor :  reign  of,  38,  42 

Ward,  American  filibuster:  commands 
Ever  Victorious  Army,  196;  death 
of,  198 

Weddell,  Captain:  takes  the  Bogfue 
Forts,  107 

Wei-hai-wei :  surrender  of,  269 ;  lease  of, 

273 
Weng  T'ungho:  sponsor  for  K'ang,  276 
White  Lily  Sect,  The,  116,  144 


INDEX 


841 


Wu,  Empress,  15 

Wu  Sankwei:  account  of,  49;  in  com- 
mand at  Ningyuan,  51;  avenges  his 
slave  girl,  52;  defeats  the  rebel  Li, 
S3 ;  pursues  Kwei  Wang  into  Burma, 
58;  resists  summons  to  Peking,  63; 
death  of,  65 

Wu  Ting  Fang:  minister  to  United 
States,  284 


X,  Y,  Z 

Xavier,  Saint  Francis,  33 

Yakoob  Khan,  217 

Yalu :  battle  of,  268 

Yamagata,  Marshal:   in  Chino- Japanese 

war,  268 
Yankchow:  taken  by  the  Manchus,  55; 

riot  at,  221 
Yangti,  Emperor:  constructs  canals,   14 
Yao,  Emperor:  reign  of,  5 
Yeh :  governor  of  Canton,  146 ;  refuses 

to   receive    Parkes,    157;    exile   and 

death  of,  163 
Yellow  River,  The,  50,  235 
Yenta,  Mongol  leader:  submits,  36 
Yin  (Shang)  Dynasty,  The,  7 
Yotung:  opened  for  trade,  316 
Younghusband,  Colonel,  316 


Yii,  Emperor:  founds  Hsia  Dynasty,  6 

Yuan,  Chinese  minister:  beheaded,  282; 

Yuan  Ch'ang:  in  Boxer  movement,  302 

Yuan-ming-yuan :  occupied  by  Prince 
Kung,  182 ;  description  of,  183 ;  burn- 
ing of,  185 

Yuan  Shih  Kai:  betrays  order  to  be- 
head Yunglu,  293;  degraded,  297; 
appointed  governor  of  Shantung 
province,  298 

Yii  Hsien:  governor  of  Shansi,  282; 
sentence  of,  285;  appointed  gover- 
nor of  Shantung,  297;  massacres 
missionaries,  304;  beheaded,  305 

Yule,  Sir  Henry,  18 

Yungcheng,  Emperor:  accession  of,  72; 
his  edict  against  Roman  Catholics, 
73;  deports  missionaries,  78;  ad- 
dresses the  Jesuits,  80;  disasters  in 
reign  of,  82;  death  of,  82 

Yung  Ch'ing  Hsien:  missionaries  mur- 
dered at,  300 

Yunglo  (Yen),  Emperor:  forces  abdica- 
tion of  Chienwen,  30;  reign  of,  30; 
his  encyclopaedia,  31 

Yunglu:  generalissimo  of  Peking  forces, 
278;  in  siege  of  legations,  282;  op- 
poses reforms,  290;  plot  to  behead, 
293;  in  Boxer  movement,  302;  made 
plenipotentiary,  303 

Yunnan,  Province  of,  128,  278 


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